


Not Every Star's Visible, But They're There

by tonysta_k



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Ableism, Ableist Language, Adoption, Angst, Anxiety, Disability, Disabled Character, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Intellectual Disability, Learning Disabilities, Mentally handicapped, Mentally younger, Not Romance, Physical Disability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-06-02 03:00:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 68,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6547909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonysta_k/pseuds/tonysta_k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"Mom it's finally happened!"</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <em>"What? What's happened?" Linda asks.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <em>Frank can't stop the smile that's still on his face. "I'm finally going to be able to adopt."</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm super excited to get this started! I've never published anything like this before and I'm hoping that you guys are going to like it! Feedback would be super helpful on this -- not only is it encouraging but it'll let me know if people are interested and want me to continue!

If there's one thing that Frank's always known, it's that he's always wanted to have a family. He's always thought of himself as 'dad material' - always willing to get up in the middle of the night to do the parental duties, never minding turning down friends for drinks in favour of going to see his child at a recital or a sports game. However, what Frank didn't expect was that he would be a single parent. 

When Frank was in his late twenties, he got engaged to his childhood sweetheart, Jamia. They had been through it all together and Frank truly thought that she was the one - how _couldn't_ she be the one? The answer to that was that Jamia left him two weeks before the wedding. Frank didn't know what was happening at the time, but it didn't take long after Jamia's departure for Frank to find out she had been seeing someone else on the side for over a year. Frank had been even more devastated when he found that out, and just as he thought he was getting over it a couple of months later, he found out that Jamia was pregnant with her new partner's child. All his progress went down the drain.

  
However, skip two years on and Frank's over it completely. Though the man was single and didn't have any plans on getting with anyone any time soon, he still wanted a child. And that's what had lead him to look into adoption. The background checks and stability of Frank and his close family took months, which brings us to today.

_Dear Frank Iero,_

_As you are aware, we have been checking the chances of you adopting a child for the last six months now. We are aware it's been a long and frustrating journey, but we are glad to tell you that you are indeed able to adopt a child. Please call your social worker so an appointment can be arranged for you to meet the children at the care home._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Jenny Williams._

Frank read the letter twice before he let out a scream of excitement - stopping when he realised that he was all too easily being able to relate to a teenager when they got their concert tickets. But Frank has been waiting for this for so long. He wastes no time in ringing his mother.

"Mom it's finally happened!"

"What? What's happened?" Linda asks.

Frank can't stop the smile that's still on his face. "I'm finally going to be able to adopt."

"Oh Frank.." Linda trails off, sounding as if she's going to cry. "I'm so happy for you. All of us are going to go out to celebrate, okay?"

Although Frank isn't close to the family he knows is included in 'all of us', he doesn't care. He's over the moon with joy. "Okay. I can't wait."

-

There's fifteen of them altogether - Frank, his mother, three aunties and two uncles, five cousins and three second cousins. Frank hasn't seen the majority of them since last year at Christmas, but that doesn't matter. Heck, this meal doesn't matter that much to Frank. What does matter to Frank is that he's finally been given the opportunity to start his family.

"Do you have any idea what age child you want to adopt?" Amy, his cousin asks, his second cousin and her child sat on her lap.

"I'm not bothered," Frank says. "I just want to a adopt a child that I get on with, I guess. One I can spoil and give a good life."

All the woman at the table 'awe'.

"You're going to be an amazing dad," Frank's aunty Louise says. "You clearly now how important family values are, not to mention you're beaming with excitement."

"Thanks," Frank grins. "I have the appointment in a few days. They said they're going to introduce me to all of the children and take it from there."

Kevin, another of Frank's cousins, raises his glass. "To Frank," he smiles.

Everyone raises their glass and they chime together. "To Frank."

-

Tying a tie with shaky hands is harder than it seems - that's the new thing that Frank's learnt today. He's dressed smartly, suit on and his hair actually styled for once instead of Frank allowing it to do as it pleases. Thankfully Frank doesn't feel sick, but the nerves are definitely there. Although he won't be able to legally adopt and take a child home today - it'll be a week or two before that happens, it's still important that Frank continues to make a good impression.

An orphanage sign has never made Frank feel so optimistic yet anxious, and as he parks the car he reminds himself that it's all going to be okay. He presses the button at the door and he's buzzed in by the receptionist.

"Good morning," the orange haired woman greets Frank. "Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm here to see Mark Hopkins," Frank informs.

The woman types something into her computer, and a few clicks later she's smiling at Frank. "First door on the left of that corridor," she tells him, pointing to a corridor through a pair of double doors.

Frank finds that the grin is contigus before he walks in the directions he was given. True to her word, there's a white door with a plaque saying 'Mark Hopkins, social worker'. Frank knocks twice and is told to come in.

Mark's office is small and cluttered with files and personal items such as his bag, jacket, and there's got to be at least five photo frames on his desk. The smaller man gets up and shakes hands with Frank.

"I can't tell you how thrilled I am for you, Frank." Mark tells him. "You're going to be such an amazing father."

"Thank you," Frank replies. It's the one compliment that he'll accept without an argument (and never get tired of hearing).

"Now," Mark collects some files on his desk into a pile. "Is there a certain age that you want the child to be?"

"Young," Frank says without hesitation. "Around three or four, maybe even five."

Mark nods and stands up. "If you follow me then I can introduce you to the children."

Frank follows Mark out of his office, down the same corridor he came down, past reception, and to a room with a closed door. On the door is a laminated piece of paper with the words 'Play area' printed on it.

"This is where the younger ones tend to hang out," Mark informs before opening the door, holding it for Frank to walk through too.

The room is about the size of a large living room, and scattered along the floor are building blocks, dolls - a variety of toys. There's a couch which is placed in front of the TV and a table behind it where all the arts and crafts seem to be laid out.

A small girl with two pigtails in her hair runs over to Frank and tugs on his trouser leg to get his attention. "Hi!"

Frank smiles down at the girl, kneeling down so he's the same height as her. "Hi," he smiles. "What's your name?"

"I'm Chelsea," the little girl introduces herself as. She then proceeds to stick her hand out, "Nice to meet you."

Frank's careful not to hurt Chelsea's hand when they shake, "Nice to meet you too. I'm Frank."

"Are you gonna adopt one of us?" Chelsea asks, holding her hands together in front of her.

"Chelsea, what have we said about questions like that?" Mark steps in, helping Frank in avoiding an awkward situation.

"Sorry," Chelsea looks at Frank. "I hope you have a nice day!" She says cheerily before running off in the direction of a group of girls.

Frank looks at Mark. "She's a cheery person."

"That she is," Mark nods. "Would you like me to introduce you to some other children, or would you like to do it on your own?"

"You can introduce me," Frank decides.

Mark introduces Frank to a group of boys - Matthew, Louis, Carl, and Nathan. All four boys seem close to one another, and Frank had enjoyed talking to each one of them. After that Frank gets introduced to the girls that Chelsea went over too. There's Lauren, Hannah, Paisley, Rebecca and Jo. Frank doesn't know how it happened, but somehow they managed to talk him into letting them do his nails. He's sure it's the puppy dog eyes they did.

"There's nail varnish remover in my office," Mark says as he and Frank stand by the door. "You're not the only one who's guilty of falling for the puppy dog eyes."

Frank chuckles, observing his poorly pink painted nails before following Mark. As they turn a corner to go into the kitchen (Mark wanting to get a cup of coffee) when Frank, distracted by his phone, walks into someone. The force of the two of them is strong enough to send the other onto the floor.

"Oh god I'm sorry," Frank finds himself saying and lowering himself down to help the boy up. He sticks his hand out.

The boy looks at Frank. He's got brown hair that's dark enough to be mistaken for black. His eyes are a lighter brown and are staring back and forth from Frank's face to his hand, and back again.

"You're all right Gerard," Mark steps forward and helps the boy, now known as Gerard, up. "What're you doing out here anyway? Isn't Mandy supposed to be reading with you?"

Gerard nods his head quickly whilst his hands stuff themselves into his hoodie pocket.

"And she isn't?"

Gerard looks down, kicking his shoe against the floor and mumbling something Frank can't hear as he stands there watching.

"Bit louder please," Mark prompts softly.

Gerard sighs. "Said she didn't wanna."

"Did she say why?"

"Cause I'm.. I'm.."

"You're what?"

"The bad word you say she isn't allowed to say."

Mark's facial expression turns into anger. "I'll have words," he puts his hand on Gerard's shoulder. "You all right?"

Gerard nods before moving to squeeze past Frank and Mark, keeping his head down as he walks.

Mark sees the look on Frank's face. "I'll explain."

-

Frank sits in the same chair he previously had been in Mark's office, a steaming cup of coffee between his hands. "So, about Gerard.."

Mark doesn't waste time getting to the point. "He's disabled," he explains. "Mandy's an older girl who lives here. We try to encourage all the children here to help one another out, and she's amazing at English whereas Gerard lacks most basic English skills. But as you can probably tell, they don't get on."

Frank frowns, "How's Gerard disabled?"

Mark takes a sip from his mug. "Client confidentiality, I can't tell you."

Frank licks his lips. "What if I wanted to adopt him? You'd have to tell me then, right?"

Mark goes quiet. He looks at Frank seriously before putting his mug down and leaning towards the desk, hands clasped together on the table. He coughs to clear his throat, "Frank I'm going to be honest with you. I don't think you want to do that."

For the first time since meeting Mark at the beginning of the whole adoption progress Frank feels resentment towards him. "Why not?"

"Gerard's tough to handle, he's tough to love," Mark replies.

Frank can't believe that those words have actually just left someone's mouth. He moves his hand to grip onto the material of his trousers. He bites his tongue as much as he can. "I'm interested in adopting him. I want to see his file."

Mark rubs his face and stands up. "Well I can't stop you," he goes over to one of his cupboards and pulls a drawer out. He puts a file on the desk. "This is his file," Mark sits back down in his seat. "Take a week to think about it, read over it well, and then come back to me, okay?"

Frank takes the file into his hands and stands up, oddly proud of himself. "Thank you," he says before exiting the office.


	2. Insights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So firstly I'd like to say thank you for all of your guys' support! I wasn't sure if many people would show an interest, so it's really motivating when this fic has had so many kudos and lovely/motivational comments!

**_Personal details_ **

**_Name_ **

_Gerard Arthur Way_

**_Age_ **

_Fifteen_

**_Date of birth_ **

_7th April, 2001_

**_Education_ **

_West Coast High School_

**_Any additional needs/medical conditions/mental health issues_ **

_Brain injury, learning disability, mentally younger (approximately four or five), poor literacy skills, sometimes can't physically speak what's on his mind, allergy to peanuts, weak left ankle. Mild anxiety._

**_Reason for being in care_ **

_Parents died in car accident when Gerard was ten._

**_Basic background_ **

_Gerard comes from what was a loving home. His parents, Donna and Donald, were happily married. There was also Mikey, Gerard's younger brother by three years. Both boys were born healthy and without health implications._

_Gerard was brought into Joyce Orphanage on the nineteenth of September 2011. Gerard and his family were involved in a car crash involving their car and another car. Gerard, the only survivor of the crash, was hospitalised for three months._

_The crash had life changing affects on him. There was a blow to his head, causing severe brain damage - permanently setting Gerard back years in development in all areas. After major operations and examinations, Gerard was found to have the mental, physical, emotional and social abilities of a child approximately four or five._  
_Gerard didn't walk for two months, and didn't speak for almost a month. He is unable to remember what happened in the car crash, but does remember his family as well as remembering who his friends were. Unfortunately, Gerard was transferred to a middle school that was specifically for children and young adults who have additional needs when he moved into the orphanage, meaning that he has lost all contact with those friends he was close to._

**_Medical background_ **

_Gerard had head surgery after the accident to stop the internal bleeding. There was nothing that could have been done to cure the impact on the part of his brain that caused him to have a younger mental age and a learning disability. As well as this Gerard had physical therapy to help him walk again. Gerard still struggles with his fine motor skills, meaning that he may sometimes find it hard to properly hold a knife and fork, write with a pen/pencil, and other similar tasks._

_In addition to this, Gerard is allergic to peanuts. Anything that contains peanuts is not to be consumed by him. Eating peanuts around Gerard is not an issue - the peanuts must actually be eaten by him to cause a reaction. In event of Gerard eating a peanut, Gerard has an epi pen and should be used on Gerard before he's taken to hospital._  
_It isn't unusual for Gerard to complain about a pain in his ankle. Not only does this cause him pain but he may find it difficult to walk on. This is due to his ankle breaking so bad in the accident that it almost 'snapped in half'. Gerard has a wheelchair as well as crutches to help him, however Gerard is not fond of either and struggles to use the crutches due to his lack of fine motor skills._

_As well as all of this, Gerard has mild anxiety. It's usually caused when he's around too many people that he doesn't know. There are tablets that he takes to keep him calm, he's aware when he needs to take one, though may resist taking one if he doesn't realise he's getting wound up/anxious. Gerard's anxiety can cause panic or anxiety attacks._

**_Previous foster carers_ **

_Gerard was fostered by one family in 2012 for six months. Whilst the family said that he was a great addition to their family, they were not financially secure enough to adopt him._

**_Other information_ **

_Although Gerard has a range of health implications, it doesn't affect how loving and wonderful he can be. Gerard has a huge love for art, and can almost always be found making something for someone. However it needs to be said that Gerard is shy and reserved around people, and anyone who adopts him needs to have a lot of time, patience, and care. Please also note that Gerard needs a lot of attention and sometimes needs to be validated. Adopting him and having him as part of your family is a lot of work and you should be ready to take the responsibility on._

Frank put his cup down, moving his eyes from the file to the decorated cup. The cup's white with blue and green polka dots - a gift from his mother a couple of years back. It's one of the few things that Frank didn't throw out after Jamia left him. He studies it for a few moments before he realises he's purposely avoid how he's feeling after reading the file, and so pushes the cup away and stands up. When he isn't sure how he's feeling or needs to work out emotions, there's always one person he can go to. His mother.

-

"A boy with special needs?" Linda asks after reading Gerard's file. She looks Frank in the eye, sat across from him at the table. "I didn't think you were going to come here to tell me that."

"It's additional needs," Frank corrects her. "And I never said anything about not adopting a child with additional needs. As far as I'm aware, I'm just as likely to adopt Gerard as I am a child who doesn't have additional needs."

"Frank, do you know what you're getting yourself into?"

Frank raises an eyebrow. "Don't say it like that. You make it sound negative."

Linda sighs, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that it's not going to be a walk in the park, and-"

"It isn't a walk in the park to raise any child," Frank points out.

"Will you let me finish?" Linda asks. "He's going to need your constant attention and care. Can you really do that whilst running a restaurant?"

"Of course I can," Frank says defensively. "Gerard's in school five out of seven days, and I can schedule meetings and work hours around that. Plus..." He leans forward to put his hands over his mothers's, "I know a mother who would love to help her son and grandson out.."

Linda rolls her eyes but there's a smile on her lips. Frank knows her all too well. "Just make sure you know what you're doing. Make sure you're stable enough."

Frank nods his head, "I will. I'm taking this seriously."

-

It's been a few days since Frank had the appointment with Mark and he's torn. The more Frank thinks about it and reads over Gerard's file, the more he's sure he should adopt Gerard. However the words of his mother have sunken in - is Frank strong enough in all aspects to support Gerard and give him the life he deserves? Because if he's going to be Frank's son -which sounds better and better to Frank every time he thinks about it-, Frank wants to give Gerard the best quality of life possible.

Frank's currently on his way to work, glad that he can have a distraction from the contradicting thoughts buzzing around in his head. Frank runs a restaurant on one of the upper sides of the city. It's known best for it's signature pasta dishes, however there's at least three options for anyone with a specific dietary need. Whether it's needing their meal to be gluten free, vegetarian, or high in protein, Frank's made sure that there's something for them.

"Morning Frank," Amy greets as Frank walks into the restaurant.

"Good morning," Frank smiles. He shrugs his coat off, "Did the egg order come in this morning?"

Amy nods her head, black hair bobbing up and down in the high ponytail she's sporting today. "And the gluten free bread and pasta."

"Excellent," Frank walks with her to his office. "Who's working kitchen tonight?"

"Uh," Amy leans against the door frame as she thinks about it. "Me, Jack, Steve, Michelle, Liam, Oliver, Ethan and Noah."

Frank nods his head, "All right, thanks Amy," he says, keeping his head down as he looks through the reservation book he keeps in his office. There's a reservation for eight people tonight and Frank writes down on a sticky note that he needs to rearrange the tables an hour before they're due to arrive. He sticks the sticky note on his computer screen. He looks back up at Amy, who he thought had already left. "Anything else I can help you with?"

Amy's cheeks go red, "Uh no, sorry." She replies before going, the door closing behind her.

-

By half six Frank's ready to go home. It's been a boring day, dragging out slowly and making Frank want to be in bed already. However, he routed himself in to work until nine, and he doesn't like to let his staff down or think of himself as superior to them. Frank is constantly going on about how they're a team and they're all equal.

"Frank, Michelle's going home," Noah informs him as Frank steps into the kitchen.

"She's scheduled in into half nine, has something happened?"

"She's in the toilet, she's-"

Frank raises a hand to stop him. He turns to Amy, "Gather Michelle's things and order her a taxi or whatever. Just make sure she gets home safely and tell her not to come in tomorrow. Not until she's feeling better."

Amy does as she's told without a word spoken.

"We're down two staff now," Dexter says, clearly irritated. "It's going to be a rush."

Dexter's the head chef of the restaurant and is one of the most demanding people Frank has ever met. He's got a strong, masculine build and stands at six foot one. His hair is dark brown and he's got a matching coloured beard.

Frank doesn't have time for unneeded whining. "It's fine," he says, so harsh that he's surprised by his own tone of voice. "I'll be a server for the night, you all stay in here and tell Amy to join me and Jackson serving once she's seen Michelle off."

"Fine," Dexter mumbles, going back to putting his full attention on frying a fish.

Frank grabs a notepad and pen before walking out to the restaurant.

It's full tonight - a lot of couples and families have come out to dine, and by the looks of the class of the family of eight who reserved a table, Frank knows a large profit will be made tonight. He makes his way over to the family of eight.

"Are you ready to order?" Frank asks, smiling at the people sat at the table.

A woman, around the age of sixty with high cheek bones answers, "Yes, we are." She waits until Frank has his pencil against the paper to talk again, "For starters, we'll have one lot of tortellini skewers, one plate of fried ravioli with sauce, two lots of mozzarella sticks, two fontina-prosciutto flatbreads and one plate of cheese and spinach puff pastries."

Once Frank's written the starters down, he asks, "And to drink?"

This time it's a man with a dark beard and bushy eyebrows who speaks. "Two glasses of the finest red wine you stock," he says, starting off the drinks order.

"I'll have a glass of that as well," a young woman with glasses and brown hair speaks and puts the wine menu down in front of her.

"We'll have two glasses of water," a man with thick black glasses says, talking for himself and (Frank's guessing) the man say next to him.

Next speaks a girl who can only be about fourteen. Her hair is swept back into a neat ponytail and her face is clear of any make-up. "I'll have a glass of Diet Coke, please."

The last person to speak is a man with fair hair, sat next to a small boy. Frank makes the assumption that they're father and son. "I'll have a glass of water, and could I get a small glass of orange juice?" He emphasises the size of the latter drink.

"Is that all?" Frank asks.

"That's all," the father speaks.

When Frank returns to the kitchen with the orders, Amy's back.

"Michelle's girlfriend picked her up," she informs Frank.

"Very well, I'm glad she's been picked up," Frank replies. "You feeling all right? You don't need to go home, do you?"

Amy shakes her head, "I'm all good," she says with a smile.

-

Frank serves the tables their drinks as well as their starters, not helping but notice the way that the woman with short black hair, who looks the eldest out of the whole table, has thrown the man next to the small child a few dirty looks. When Frank's serving the table behind them, he hears a conversation between the woman and man.

"Can't you just take her back?"

The man sighs, "Mum she doesn't want me any more. I don't have a control over that."

"Oh rubbish, you just can't be bothered to make an effort with her. You've always been a slacker, you bring disgrace to this family."

The child speaks up, "Daddy," he says sadly. "I want mommy."

A sigh is heard. "I know you do," the man says softly. "And if I could get her for you then I could."

"Your father can get her for you. He just doesn't want to," the older woman says. It makes the boy burst into tears.

Frank can't believe the nerve of this woman and what she's saying - regardless to her relation with the dad and the young boy. When Frank's taken the orders of the other table, he goes back to the table of eight.

"Is everything okay?" He asks.

"Everything's fine," the black haired woman snaps over the sound of the boy crying.

Frank resists glaring at her, instead opting to kneel down by the boy's chair. "Hey," he says softly, getting his attention. He watches as the boy wipes his eyes and sniffle. "Would you like some pictures to colour?"

The little boy speaks quietly, "Haven't got any colours."

"That's okay," Frank promises. "We have some colours here. You can draw some of your own pictures if you wish."

A small smile manages to find it's way to the boy's face and he wipes his eyes again, "Okay," he nods.

-

"I saw what you did, you know," Amy says when she's on her break with Frank.

They're stood round the back of the restaurant, the only thing keeping them warm being their coats and cigarettes. However, neither object is doing a very good job of protecting their owners from the harsh wind.

"Saw what?" Frank asks before taking a drag of his cigarette.

"What you did for that kid, giving him the colours and paper to cheer him up," Amy explains and pulls her coat closer to her body. "Did you take paper from your printer?"  
Frank hums and lets a puff of smoke out of his mouth. "No big deal," he says with a shrug of his shoulders. "Just doing something to help a situation."

Amy shakes her head, "We always have kids crying and you never bother doing anything. What was so special about this one?"

Frank considers not saying anything and going back inside, but it's an hour until his shift ends. He's got time to kill. "I heard the conversation between the kid's dad and the older woman."

"The one with brown hair?"

"No, she was only a teenager by the looks of her. I mean the one with black hair, the eldest one at the table," Frank explains. "By the sounds of it the kid's dad and the kid himself had been left by their wife/mother and they weren't going to see her again. The older woman was saying some horrible things and I don't know.. I just couldn't stand there and do nothing."

Amy catches on immediately. She moves her hand to sit on Frank's shoulder. "They'll be okay, look how well you're doing."

-

When Frank collects the bill from the table after the family leaves, it's left with a pile of notes and a scribbled picture of (what Frank thinks is) a dog. When Frank counts the money, there's an extra thirty. There's also writing on the back of the drawing,

_Thank you for your kindness. It made the meal all the better._

-

Just before Frank's due to leave, he calls Amy and Jackson in to see him.

"Is everything okay?" Jackson asks, rubbing his hands nervously.

"Everything is fine," Frank smiles. He removes his hands from his coat pockets and holds them both out to his two younger employees, both hands holding one ten dollar note and one five. "Take these."

"I don't understand," Amy says but takes the money.

"It was a tip I received," Frank explains. "But I rarely serve and tonight was busy for all three of us, but you guys usually have to do that stuff on your own, so have it. You deserve it more than I do."

"Are you sure?" Amy asks though clearly glad for Frank's kind gesture.

"Positive."

-

Wednesday rolls round and marks the day before Frank has to go back to Mark with his answer on whether he wants to adopt Gerard. Frank's still not sure what his answer is. He's done a lot of research and from what he's found, he would need to adapt his house to make it more accessible for Gerard. There are also courses that Frank would want to take to ensure he's completely clued up on how to be the best father possible and care for Gerard correctly. It's definitely a lot for Frank to think about, and he doesn't want to rush into it. Luckily for him, he's got a best friend who's got some experience in caring for people with additional needs.

"So what is it that you want to know?" Ray asks as he sits at the cafe with Frank.

"Your sister has a disabled child, doesn't she?"

"Yeah.." Ray trails off. "Why?"

"I'm interested in adopting a boy with disabilities. He's fifteen but has the mind of a four or five year old. I was wondering if you could give me an insight on what it's like to be the parent of a disabled child."

Ray nods his head, "I can't give you it from a parents view, but I can give you it from an uncles."

"It all helps," Frank says.

"It's definitely a lot of work - and I don't mean that in a negative way, not at all. What I mean to say is that -with my sister's child anyway- they need a lot of attention and reassurance. This might not be the case with the boy you're adopting, but it is with Eliza. My sister spends a lot of money on Eliza's education as well -- she goes to a school specifically for people with learning difficulties. As well as that there's all of the activities that Eliza does - but that's no different to someone who doesn't have a disability. We all have our interests and they're rarely free of charge."

Frank makes sure to take in everything that Ray's saying to him. Although he's grateful for what he's being told, it's nothing that Frank wasn't already aware of. However it is good to know that his prior knowledge has been confirmed correct. "Anything else you can tell me?"

Ray thinks about it for a few seconds. "My sister's more knowledgeable, Frank. I can give her your number and she can ring you to discuss it?"

"Will she be able to ring me tonight? The adoption meeting is tomorrow and I really want a clear decision made by the time I go."

"I'm sure she can."

Frank grins, "Thanks Ray."

-

Ray's sister decides to ring at the most inconvenient of times - just when Frank's dropping off to sleep. She couldn't have rung him when he was eating his tea or bored watching a film, no. Instead she rings when Frank's winding down for the night. Nevertheless, he's glad that he's able to talk to someone who's knowledgeable on what Frank needs to know about.

"Mm hi," Frank says, half asleep as he lays with the phone against his ear.

"Hi Frank, I'm so sorry for the delay of this phone call. I was planning on ringing earlier but Eliza hasn't been well and she only went to sleep about ten minutes ago."

Frank replies with, "It's really not a problem. Is she all right?"

Ray's sister sighs, "She's got a heavy cold, but she already has a poor immune system and so it affects her worse. There's not really anything the doctors can give her so we've been keeping her wrapped up and giving her hot drinks and food but nothing seems to be doing the trick.." She trails off. She stays quiet for a few seconds before, "Anyway, enough of me going on, Ray tells me you're looking into adopting a boy with additional needs. Gerard, isn't it?"

"I am, and that's his name," Frank confirms. "I want to know what it requires for me to give him the best care possible."

"Well you've come to the right person," Frank can hear the smile is her voice. "Do you have any specific questions?"

"I dont' have any specific questions but I just want you to know that I know Eliza and Gerard probably have completely personalities and traits and such.. I don't want to stereotype either of them or anything."

"Good," the smile is still evident.

Frank tries to think of a question that he can ask her. "So like, what's it like having a child with additional needs?" He asks. "And is there anything I should know that a website won't tell me?"

Ray's sister laughs, "Okay firstly, use the websites as a guideline. Gerard could and probably is different from what you've read online. Get to know him, what he doesn't like and what he does, comfort items, things that make him uneasy. Also, learn to listen to your father intuition. I know you don't have any children, so it's never been there, but I'm sure that the moment that Gerard moves in with you."

Frank's smiling, glad to be getting advice but also assurance that he's going to do a good job. "Thanks."

"No problem, if you ever need advice or help then you can come to me," she promises. "Is there anything else you need to know before I go?"

"No, that's all I needed to hear for now," Frank replies.

"All right, goodnight Frank."

-

"Frank, great to see you again," Mark greets, shaking Frank's hand before sitting down once again. "I take it you've made a decision?"

"I have," Frank confirms. "I want to adopt Gerard."

Mark stares at Frank for a few moments. Clearly he hasn't had the answer he was expecting. "Uh, right.. Are you sure?"

"I am," Frank says confidently. There's not a doubt in his mind, the phone call with Ray's sister helping Frank to come to a strong decision. "I've thought about it, I've done the research, I've done all that I need to do to make sure I'll be able to support Gerard and give him a good life."

Mark goes quiet again before a small smile breaks out on his face. "You know what? Gerard deserves a good life. I'll get the forms for you," he turns to his computer but continues to speak to Frank. "It'll be about three weeks before Gerard can come home with you, it's just how the system goes," he explains. "However, you can take him out for day trips and get to know him before he permanently moves in with you."

Frank nods his head, feeling his heartbeat speeding up. In just three weeks he's going to be a father.

"You can fill out the forms here or at home," Mark continues. "The process is going to go quicker if you do them here however, because I can send them off for you." As his printer starts to print off the forms, he turns back to look at Frank. "I'm sorry for what I said last time about Gerard," he says seriously. "I've just known him since he was placed here - he was one of the first cases I was given and one of the first kids that I work with. I guess I'm just protective. Even thought I know you're a good guy and that you've wanted to be a dad for years. I just want to make sure Gerard gets the home he deserves."

"Hey, I understand," Frank says, the offence he had felt last week disappearing. "I promise you that Gerard is going to have a good life with me."

Mark smiles slightly, leaning back in his chair. "I know that now," he replies.

Once the adoption forms are printed -all back to back-, Mark gives them to Frank. "If you want to fill them out in here then I can answer any questions or queries you may have."

"All right, thanks," Frank replies, his eyes scanning over the first page of the forms. "Do you have a pen I can use, please?"

"Here," Mark leans over to Frank to give him a pen.

-

When Frank's on the eighth from, Mark's left the room to get them both a hot beverage. He's just about to answer a question when there's a knock on the door. Frank turns his head in the direction of the sound, before he watches the door open and Chelsea steps in. There's tears in her eyes and her lip is wobbling. Frank wastes no time in rushing over to her to see what's wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asks softly. It's then that he notices Chelsea holding her wrist as she stands there.

"Hurt my wrist," she tells Frank sadly. "Is Mark here?"

Frank shakes his head. "I can take you to him if you want."

Chelsea nods her head sadly, and with that Frank stands up before starting to walk to the kitchen. A few steps away from the kitchen, and Frank can hear what sounds like the beginning of an argument. When he and Chelsea get to the kitchen, they see Mark stood with Gerard. Neither Frank nor Chelsea interrupt them.

"Gerard you have to take it," Mark says.

"No I don't," Gerard says, narrowing his eyes at Mark. "You can't make me."

Mark sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "You know if you don't take it that you're going to have an anxiety attack."

Gerard doesn't seem to care about what he's just been told. In fact, he disagrees with the statement completely. "No I won't," he insists.

"Mark," Chelsea says, picking her time to interrupt the conversation. "My wrist hurts!"

Mark takes his attention off Gerard and to Chelsea. "What did you do?" He asks as the small girl walks over to him and Gerard, leaving Frank to stand at the door.

"Was playing and got it hurt," Chelsea replies.

"What were you playing?"

"We were being fairies!"

Mark seems to catch on. "Do you mean you were being fairies and flying by jumping on the couch?"

Chelsea's cheeks go red and she looks at her shoes. "Maybe.."

"What have we said about jumping on the couch?"

"Not to do it."

"And why's that?"

"'Cause we get hurt.."

Mark hums before turning to the cupboard and getting out the first aid box. Frank watches as he applies a small amount of cream to Chelsea's wrist before proceeding to wrap it in a bandage. "No more jumping on the couch, got it?" He asks.

"Got it," Chelsea replies, leaving the kitchen, waving to Frank as she does so.

"Right, last time, take the tablet," Mark says, going back to the conversation with Gerard.

"No!" Gerard snaps. "I don't wanna."

Mark looks over at Frank, giving him a look that Frank thinks translates into _Do you think you can help here?_ Frank also takes it as a _Get used to this_ look.

"Gerard, what's your favourite drink?" Frank asks, stepping in to help Gerard. 

The younger male turns around to look at Frank. His cheeks go red and he unfolds his arms to put his hands in his jeans pockets. Frank figures he wasn't aware of Frank's presence in the kitchen. "Orange juice," Gerard says quietly, making eye contact with Frank for a few seconds before having to look away.

Frank nods before, "Mark get him a glass of orange juice. But only fill it half way."

Mark does just that, interested in the technique Frank has. He puts the glass of orange juice down on the counter before stepping away, a sign Frank takes as to stand there instead.

"Taking tablets are gross, right?" Frank asks Gerard, now stood in front of the teenager.

Gerard nods his head quickly but doesn't look at Frank.

"But orange juice is good, yeah?"

Once again, Gerard nods his head.

"Okay, so how about this? Watch what I do," Frank says, waiting for Gerard to look up at him to watch his actions. Once Frank has Gerard's full attention, he crushes the tablet with the bottom of the glass. After that he puts the glass back down and pushes the tablet -now in very small pieces instead of one whole piece- into the palm of his hand and shows Gerard. "Barely anything there, right?"

"Right," Gerard says quietly.

Frank proceeds to tip the crushed up tablet into the glass of orange juice, before getting a spoon from the drawer and stirring it. He turns to Gerard and gently pushes the glass towards him. "Think you can drink that?" He asks. "You won't taste the tablet and it'll help with stopping an anxiety attack. Plus, it's orange juice, it's nice."  
Gerard seems hesitant at first, staring Frank in the face before looking down at the drink. Slowly and wearily he picks it up, bringing it up to his face and staring into it for a few seconds.

Frank and Mark share a look before turning their attention back to Gerard, and to both their surprise and pleasure, Gerard takes a sip.

"It.." Gerard trails off after his first mouthful. "It tastes okay," he says. He gives Frank a shy smile before he continues to take little sips until he's done with it. Once he is done, he puts the cup in the sink. "Can I go now?" He asks Mark.

Mark, shocked, simply nods his head and watches Gerard leave. He turns to look at Frank, "All right, now you have my full approval of this adoption," he chuckles.

-

"I'll send these off on my lunch break," Mark says, Frank having just given him the forms.

"All right, thank you," Frank replies. "Is there anything else I need to know or do before I go?"

"Uh yeah," Mark says. "Just a few things I want to tell you. First of all, when it says it might take Gerard a while to warm up to you in his file, it's true. Sometimes he warms up to people easily, but most of the times it's hard for him to. So be patient with him, okay? Secondly, once the adoption goes through and Gerard lives with you, we'll need to sort out his health insurance. We'll need to change it so that it's you paying for it instead of us. Thirdly, whilst Gerard does go to a public school open for everyone, it has been recommended to us before that he transfers to private school specifically for people with additional needs.

"However, we haven't been able to send him. You see, it's expensive to go there, approximately seventeen grand a year. Obviously we can't afford that as an orphanage, but Gerard can afford it when he turns sixteen. All of his parents money went to him, but he can't touch it until he's sixteen. Now, since you're going to be his guardian, you need to write to your lawyer and they should be able to get you to be the one who's in charge of Gerard's money. We were going to do that here and send Gerard to the school, but we didn't (and don't) have enough money for the court hearing or even a good enough lawyer. So what I'm saying is, is when Gerard turns sixteen -which is in just four weeks-, you'll have the opportunity to send him to a different school if you want to."

It takes a few moments for Frank to process the information. He didn't think he would be faced with this type of choice - he didn't think he would be in charge of Gerard's money. Heck, the thought of money having been left to Gerard hadn't crossed Frank's mind. "Does he like the school he goes to?"

"I wouldn't say so, really," Mark replies. "He isn't bullied, but he also doesn't have any friends, and he struggles in all of his classes."

Frank nods, pretty much having his mind made up about the situation. "All right, I'll give it a think." He says.

"Very well," Mark replies. "When do you want to take Gerard out for the day? And do you want me or another social worker to assist the two of you?"

Frank has to think about this one. He takes into consideration that Gerard will probably be out of his comfort zone if it's just him and Frank the first time they out. So whilst

Frank would would like the time to get to know Gerard on his own, he puts Gerard first and chooses the option that'll benefit him more. "You're welcome to join us," he says.

"What day are you planning on?"

Again, Frank thinks about it. But this time he's thinking about his work schedule and taking into account that Gerard has school. "I can do Saturday."

"This Saturday coming?" Mark asks.

"That one," Frank nods.

Mark writes it down in his diary and adds it to his phone events. "Right, I think that's it unless you have any questions," he says to Frank.

Frank shakes his head, "Until next Saturday," he smiles.

Mark gets up to show Frank to the door, however just as Frank's about to open the door, a piece of plain paper is slid under the door and hurried footsteps can be heard from outside the office. Mark and Frank share a look and Frank kneels down to retrieve the paper. He turns it over, seeing a messily drawn orange cylinder in crayon with the words 'thank you' in scribbled writing. Mark glances over at it and smiles.

"See? He's already made you something," he says.

Frank smiles, looking at the drawing fondly. Ray's sister was wrong - Frank's father intuition has started before Gerard's even legally Frank's son.

 


	3. Accepting Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long wait for an update is due to me not having a strong idea on how to start this chapter. It was originally going to go a lot differently, but I'm happier with how this turned out than what I had briefly planned!

Frank lays his head down on the table in his kitchen. It's a day before he's meant to take Gerard (and Mark) out and he has no idea of what he's supposed to do. Ray suggested the cinema, but how's Frank meant to get to know Gerard if they're watching a film with around twenty other people? Especially somewhere where you're not meant to be speaking. Frank had run the idea of taking him and Gerard to a pottery class, but Mark had pointed out that Gerard's ankle could be too weak and painful to use for the pedal, and that Gerard's coordination and motor skills aren't always his strongest point. So after that, Frank was all out ideas.

The man gets up and goes over to the fridge, smiling slightly at the hand drawn picture on there before opening the door and looking at what he has left in his fridge. For someone who runs a restaurant and is in control of the stock order, Frank isn't great at keeping his own fridge and freezer full. He makes a note that he needs to start making sure that both are full for when Gerard moves in. Well, if Gerard moves in with him. Everything is resting on whether or not they bond properly and Gerard wants to be adopted. Frank isn't going to force him into anything, obviously. With all this in mind, Frank thinks it's a good idea to go grocery shopping.

-

When Frank's at the store, he remembers why he prefers to do this online, and why he is such a fan of having the stock delivered to the restaurant. There's so many people and far too much noise. Not only that, but he can never remember what food is in what aisle. It's a nightmare.  
Walking up the aisle, Frank puts a bottle of milk and tub of butter in his cart. He's decided he'll just do a quick shop now and order the rest online. He adds a block of cheese and a few cups of yoghurt into his cart before going up to the next aisle.

The next aisle is cereal, biscuits, breads, and all other food items you'd expect to see amongst them. Just as he's putting a box of plain Cornflakes in his cart, he hears a scream, and he looks up to see three women surrounding someone. Frank doesn't think much of it, it's probably just some kid acting out. He goes back to browsing items.

Once he's added in what he needs, he realises he needs to walk past the women and the person who's still crying in order to get up to the bakery part of the store. He lets out a small sigh before deciding that that's just life - you don't always get to have things your way. He starts walking towards the women, and scrunches his nose up at the screaming. He realises it's too loud and deep to be one of a child, and when he reaches the four people, he turns his head to look at them. His eyes widen and his lips part; he'd recognise that black hair anywhere. Gerard.

Suddenly, Frank has a lot of interest in the situation, and finds himself moving the women out of the way so he's able to kneel down in front of Gerard in attempts to get him to calm down.

Gerard's still screaming, and he can't get himself to look at Frank for more than five seconds. Frank isn't surprised at this, he knows Gerard's reserved around people. What does surprise Frank though, is when Gerard grabs a hold of his hand.

"Is Mark with you?" Frank asks, trying not to get annoyed with the three women standing there, asking Frank questions. Can they not see that he's busy?

Gerard stops screaming, but now he can't seem to breath at a steady pattern. "H-h-he," he just about makes out, before ducking his head and pulling at his hair with his unoccupied hand out of frustration.

"Hey hey hey," Frank says softly, carefully untangling Gerard's hand from his hair. He doesn't say a word about how Gerard squeezes it just as tightly as he is the other one.

"We'll find him, but first I need you to try and calm down."

Gerard nods his head a little bit too fast, before moving his and Frank's hands and resting his forehead against the back of Frank's. Frank can hear Gerard's breaths; they're deep and heavy, and Frank doesn't speak a word, letting Gerard try to calm himself down in the way he's obviously familiar with. Frank almost forgets that the three women are there until one of them speaks.

"I take it you're good... Friends?"

Frank turns his head. "Yeah," he says. He doesn't want to bring the adoption up - both because it's none of their business, but also (and mainly because of the fact that) he's not sure if Gerard's been informed about it yet.

"Okay, well I hope he starts to calm down soon," the brunette of the women says, before the three of them are walking off.

Frank looks back at Gerard, giving him a reassuring smile when he's met with red rimmed eyes and a quivering lip. "Let's go find Mark, yeah?"

Gerard gives a simple nod of his head, and lets Frank help him up.

-  
As Frank suspected, Mark's stood at the lost people section part of the store. He doesn't think he's ever seen someone run as fast as Gerard has.

"Gerard! There you are!" Mark says, relief lacing his voice. The moment Gerard's in Mark's arms, he starts crying. "It's okay it's okay," Mark promises, rubbing Gerard's back. "I've got you."

Mark then looks up, and seems shocked to see Frank stood there. "Did you find him?"

"Not at first," Frank admits. "Some women were with him at first, and then I, well, I was just there, really."

"I don't even know how I lost him," Mark says. "One minute he was there and the next thing I knew, he was gone."

"Happens to the best of us," Frank replies, even if it's never happened to him. "The important thing is, is that Gerard's safe now."

Mark nods his head, "You're right," he agrees. He looks back down at Gerard, the boy now only whimpering instead of full on crying. "Gerard, what do you say to Frank for helping you?"

Gerard turns his head to look at Frank. He only keeps eye contact for a couple of seconds before taking interest in Frank's shoes. "Thank you," he whispers.

"No problem," Frank replies simply.

"If you're not doing anything, you could come back for a cup of coffee," Mark suggests. "There's a few things I want to go over with you about tomorrow anyway."

Frank feels his nerves kick in. "Sounds good."

-

When they enter the orphanage, a girl with dark hair walks past them, bumping Gerard back into Mark. She doesn't stop to apologise.

"Mandy!" Mark calls, watching as the girl walks upstairs, raising her hand to flip him off. Mark rolls his eyes, before telling Gerard he can upstairs until food's ready.

Gerard leaves without a word said.

Frank and Mark carry the food into the kitchen. There's a tall, young looking woman with short ginger eyes and brown eyes stood by the cooker. "Hi," she smiles at Frank and puts her hand out. "You must be Frank."

"Uh, yeah," Frank says, a little creeped out at how she knows her.

"I told her how you're going to hopefully be adopting Gerard, as long as it all goes well," Mark explains.

Frank nods his head, finally moving his hand to shake the woman's. "That's me. And you are?"

"Samantha," she smiles. "I didn't know you were coming today. We usually don't have visitors at lunch time."

"Gerard got lost at the store," Mark says, moving to put the dairy products away. "Frank found him and brought him to me, that's how we bumped into each other."

"He got lost?" Samantha frowns. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Mark says, but watches as Samantha takes her apron off and gives it to him.

"Is he upstairs?"

Mark nods, "Make sure he isn't fighting with Mandy." He puts the apron on, "You know how horrible Mandy is to him."

"Don't we all?" Samantha asks, before leaving the kitchen.

-

Whilst everyone else eats, Frank sits in Mark's office, the two of them holding a cup of tea. It's not as noisy as it usually is, but there's still noise to be heard.

"Have you decided where we're going?" Mark asks.

Frank shakes his head, "I have no idea."

"It's all right, most people are clueless on where to go when it comes to the first outing. May I suggest something?"

"Please do."

Mark can't help but laugh. "The Zoo," he says. "I can pay for Gerard and myself, he'll love it."

Frank thinks about it for a few seconds, trying to work out if he has enough fuel in his car or if he needs to put some in on the way back home. "I can't believe I didn't think of it," he says. "Sounds perfect."

"Good," Mark says. "Now, what I wanted to say, was that Gerard can't be out later than five. It's part of the policies we have here in order to keep him safe. It applies to everyone here under sixteen."

"I understand," Frank replies. "What time do you want me to come here in the morning?"

"Ten should do it, providing that's okay with you," Mark says.

"I can do ten," Frank nods.

-

"Right, so we'll see you tomorrow," Mark says, stood at the front door with Frank. "Ring me tonight if you have any last minute questions."

"I will," Frank steps outside. "Say goodbye to Gerard for me."

Mark's about to say something, when there's a series of 'Wait!'s coming from inside. Two seconds later, Gerard's stood next to Mark. His eyes are no longer red, and he looks refreshed. "Get home safely," he says with a small smile, before pushing his face into Mark's side shyly.

Frank doesn't even try to hide his smile, "Thank you, Gerard. I'll be sure to." With that, Frank leaves to go to his car. He gets in and turns the radio on as soon as he's started the car up. When he adjusts his mirror, he sees Mark and Gerard waving to him. He rolls his window down to wave out of it.

The day's been fairly eventful, and Frank's excited (and maybe a little anxious) for the next day.


	4. Outing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day at the zoo, little fluff, and progress of Frank and Gerard bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so bad at updating,,, I apologise. Thank you for being so patient with me!
> 
> Also, thank you to Darcy for reading part of this (and other chapters) for me, and full credit to them for the subtle song reference in this chapter.

Frank checks he's ready five times before he actually leaves the house. He makes sure the windows are locked, everything that needs to be off it off, and everything that needs to be on is on. He phones work to make sure they're doing okay and running smoothly, and with his keys in one hand and wallet in the other, he finally leaves the house. He was up almost all night with nerves, but managed to get enough sleep.

The drive to the orphanage is surprisingly quick, and Frank's subconsciously glad, because it means that he hasn't had the time to worry more or get anxious. He gets out of the car with a slight spring in his step, and knocks the door.

Seconds later, Samantha's face is visible. "Frank! Hello, come in," she says, opening the door wider and allowing Frank in. "Mark's had to go out, unfortunately. He didn't have time to inform you, so I'll be joining you and Gerard instead. I hope that's all right."

Frank, although taken back by the news, nods his head. "Of course it is," he says, shoving his hands into his pocket. "Do you want me to wait in the car, or...?"

"No no, come to the kitchen. Gerard's just trying to choose between sandwich fillers. We'll be on our way once he's chosen one."

Frank follows Samantha down the hallways and into the kitchen without a word spoken. He's curious as to what was so important that Mark had to go so urgently.

"Decided on a sandwich filler yet?" Samantha asks Gerard, making him look up from the island in the table. "Or are we still deciding?"

Gerard goes to speak but then notices Frank, and closes his mouth. He looks at Samantha and holds two fingers up.

"Narrowed it down to two, then?"

Gerard nods and pushes the pack of sliced ham and the jar of jam away from him and towards Samantha.

Samantha takes both items into her hands. She examines the expiration dates, sees how much of each is left, before putting them back down. "Do you prefer one of them?"

She gets a shake of the head in response.

"Do you want both of them? One sandwich of each?"

Yet again, a shake of the head.

Samantha scratches the back of her head. "I don't know what else we can do Gerard, and we need to get going."

"I used to have them both together," Frank speaks up, getting both Gerard and Samantha's attention. "Ham and jam sandwiches. They aren't as bad as they sound."

Gerard scrunches his nose up at the suggestion, looking away from Frank, to the food, and then at Sam.

"Shall we give that a go?" Samantha asks. "I'm sure you'll love it."

"And if not, I'll buy you food at the cafe in the zoo," Frank promises.

Gerard, apparently now fond of the idea, nods his head with the slightest of smiles set upon his lips.

-

When the sandwiches are done and Gerard's upstairs, claiming he forgot something, Samantha turns to talk to Frank.

"I think Mark forgot to mention something to you about today."

Frank quirks up an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"You're aware of Gerard's ankles and sometimes poor motor skills, correct?"

"Yes..." Frank trails off, not sure where this is going.

"Well, on trips like this, we tend to take Gerard's wheelchair just in case he happens to need it. Is the boot of your car big enough to put it in?"

Frank dwells on the question for a couple moments. He may need to move some files from the boot and put them on the floor in the back, but with that done, it should be fine.

"We can try at least," he looks at Samantha, "If not, what'll happen?"

"Not to worry," Samantha says, moving his hand to rest on Frank's arm. "It'll just mean that we'll have to take my car or the mini bus. We'll be going out today either way."

Gerard comes into the room a few seconds later, which is what makes Samantha remove her lingering hand from Frank's arm. "Ready," he says quietly, holding his coat to his chest.

Samantha helps Gerard put his coat on before asking him to get the bag of food and go out to the car with Frank. He doesn't look sure at first, but eventually takes the bag and leads the way outside.

"Thanks for helping me yesterday," Gerard says, not looking at Frank as they walk to the car. "I don't like being on my own. Especially at the store."

Frank turns to look at Gerard. He's surprised that Gerard spoke to him, but he's glad, because Frank had no idea how to start a conversation. "It's all right," he replies. "Those women didn't seem to be doing a very good job of calming you down."

Gerard shakes his head. "Annoying," he says simply. "They kept trying to hug me, I didn't like it."

"It isn't nice when people you don't know try hugging you," Frank agrees. "And you should never hug someone you don't know and if you're on your own."

"I know," Gerard says. "Mark taught me 'bout it."

Frank stops when they get to the car. "Good," he opens the back door and gestures for Gerard to get in. "You can put the food next to you. Do you need help with your seat belt?"

Gerard climbs in the car, putting the bag down by his feet. He looks at Frank and as he plays with his finger tips, he nods his head.  
Frank gets Gerard's seat belt and leans across him, making sure not to lean against him, and puts it into the socket. "That okay?" He asks as he pulls back. "Not too tight?"

Gerard shakes his head, "It's fine."

Frank steps back and closes Gerard's door, opening the driver's seat. It's then that Samantha comes out, and Frank doesn't hesitate to open the boot and help her put the wheelchair in. To his surprise, he only had two folders in the boot, so the wheelchair (once folded) fits in just fine.

-

The drive starts out admittedly awkward. There was small talk between Samantha and Frank for about five minutes, before it just went silent. Frank didn't think he could be so useless at making conversation, and whilst Gerard seemed perfectly content to sit in the back and stare out the window, Frank didn't think he was exactly showing how much 'dad material' he was.

"Can you put the radio on?" Gerard asks. "It's boring."

"Gerard, don't be rude," Samantha says as she looks at him. "Apologise."

Gerard frowns, "But Mark always says I should tell the truth, that's all I'm doing."

"He's right," Frank says, stepping into the conversation to defend Gerard. "It is boring. What radio station do you like?"

Gerard shrugs, "Any," he replies. "As long as the music's good."

"Noted," Frank says. He moves his hand to turn the radio on, a radio station that plays the current most popular songs coming on. "Is this okay?"

Gerard listens to the music, trying to see if he likes it. "Not this one," he says as a G note plays. "I don't like it."

"Very well," Frank changes the station. "This one?"

Gerard listens to the music for a couple of seconds before smiling and nodding his head. He looks out the window before saying,"I like this song."

Frank smiles, "Glad to hear it."

-

The car park is packed, and Frank drives around cautiously so he doesn't run anyone over. He's able to park his car between a smaller, old looking car, and a motorcycle.

Samantha puts Gerard's disabled badge on the dashboard, before getting out. Frank opens Gerard's door and thanks him when he passes him the bag of food. He shuts the door, and with that, comes a change of atmosphere.

"No," Gerard says firmly. "I'm not using it."

Frank turns his head to see that Gerard's stood with his arms over his chest, glaring as Samantha folds the wheelchair out. He decides he won't say anything for not. Samantha's more than likely had to put up with this before, she knows what to do.

"I'm not saying you have to use it," Samantha explains calmly. "What I am saying, is that we need to take it with us in case something happens."

Gerard shakes his head. "No," he says once again.

"It's not a choice," Samantha replies. "Now come on, do you want to waste the whole day arguing over this?"

Gerard mutters something that Frank doesn't understand, but takes it that it was him accepting the fact because Samantha says, "Good, let's get going then."

Frank locks the car, then walking behind Samantha and Gerard. When they get to the little outside office boxes with glass windows to get in, Frank doesn't hesitate to pay for all of them.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Samantha says. "Gerard's got allowance, we could have used that for his admission."  
Frank shakes his head, "Don't be silly," he puts his wallet back in his pocket. "It's a day out, I don't expect him to pay for himself."

"And you didn't want me to pay for myself, either?"  
Frank's too busy keeping an eye on Gerard to see Samantha's rosy cheeks. "Yeah, sure."

They walk through the gates and into the park. It's noisy and packed with people, which makes Gerard step back and grips onto the sleeve of Samantha's jacket.

"You okay?"

Gerard whimpers, "Noisy."

"I know," she replies, putting her hand on the lower part of Gerard's back. She looks at Frank, "Do me a favour?"

"Anything," Frank nods.

Samantha moves the wheelchair in front of Frank. "Would you mind pushing it for me?"

Frank, knowing the reason behind it, doesn't think twice. "No problem," he says. He looks at Gerard, who's focusing on his shoes. "What would you like to go and see first?"

"Lions," Gerard says quietly.

Frank doesn't quite hear him, and leans down in hopes of hearing him better this time. "What was that, sorry? I didn't hear you."

Gerard looks up, briefly making eye contact. "Lions."

It takes them ten minutes to find the lion enclosure. It's outside and is a large piece of land, covered in large rocks and grass. It's fenced with high, black steel bars and the closeness you can get to the enclosure is limited by a much smaller fence of wood, leaving a meter distance between both fences. There's about eight lions altogether; two male adults, three lionesses, and five cubs.

Gerard looks up at Samantha, "Why's there another fence?"

Samantha, occupied with her phone, replies with, "It's so they don't attack us."

Frank sees Gerard physically tense. "It's also so that they don't lose their cubs," he says, trying to lighten the reasoning. Gerard looks at him. "And Lions stay in groups called 'prides'. Or maybe it's packs, I'm not sure which one. But they stick together."

"Like a family?" Gerard asks with a small smile.

"Exactly like that," Frank smiles.

Gerard turns to the lions. "I like them," he says, letting go of Sam's arm. "Especially the one laying down."

"Yeah?" Why's that?" Frank asks.

"The hair," Gerard says. "Is that the name for it?"

"It's called a mane," Frank explains. "It's what the male's of the group have."

"Oh," Gerard says. "That's cool."

After the lions, they go to see the tigers. Gerard opens up more; asking questions such as why the male tigers don't get manes, and how they have a smaller enclosure. Frank's given the chance to tell him the answers due to Samantha being on her phone so much, and Frank can't decide if it -Samantha being on her phone- is a blessing or just plain annoying.

"What's your name again?" Gerard asks, looking up at Frank as they make their way to the monkey enclosures.

It dawns on Frank that he never really introduced himself to Gerard. "Frank," he replies.

"I had a friend called Frank once," Gerard replies. "Can't remember what happened to them though."

Frank gives a sad smile. "Maybe they moved schools."

Gerard shrugs, "I moved schools once," he said.

"Did you?" Frank asks, as if he didn't already know.

"Yeah," Gerard says, loosing interest in the conversation as soon as they get to the monkeys. "Look at that one!" He says, pointing to the monkey sat in a tree, behind thick glass.

"I think that one's my favourite," Frank says as they get closer to the glass, stood behind a couple of people. "The one on the next branch down."

"The one scratching his bum?"

Frank laughs, "Yeah, the one doing that."

"Why do you like that one?" Gerard asks.

Frank shrugs, "I'm not sure, why do you like the one you do?"

"Cause he looks funny!" Gerard smiles. "The others look boring." He goes to talk to Samantha to ask her what her favourite is, but instead sighs and looks back at Frank. "I don't like it when she's on her phone."

"Does she do this a lot?" Frank asks, feeling a small wave of shock (and disappointment) running through him.

"Yeah," Gerard says, tone quieter as he looks back at the monkey. "I prefer Mark."

Frank hums. He doesn't say anything as he looks at the monkeys with Gerard, but he doesn't blame Gerard's preference of care worker.

After that they go to see the giraffes, the penguins, and the zebras.

"How come they have stripes?" Gerard asks.

"I'm not sure," Frank says honestly. "I guess it's just their pattern."

Gerard nods, satisfied with the answer. He looks at the zebras for a couple of minutes before turning to Samantha. "Can we get food now?"

Samantha, for the first time all day, looks up from her phone. "Uh sure," she says, rubbing her eye. She looks over at Frank, "Did you want to buy food here for yourself?"

Frank nods, "We can sit in the food area."

-

The food court of the zoo is packed, noisy with everyone talking -some shouting- and trying to get their children to sit down and eat something. Gerard's sat across Frank and Samantha, one half of a jam and ham sandwich between his fingers. He's eyeing it suspiciously, as if he expects it to jump at him. He brings it up to his face and sniffs it, before making a face.

"One bite," Frank says, pretty much having taken over as the one responsible for Gerard since Samantha, is once again, indulged in her phone. "And if you don't like it, I'll buy you something."

Gerard thinks about it, before getting the other half of the sandwich. He places it in front of Frank, "You have to try it too."

"Uh," Frank says awkwardly. "I can't eat meat."

Gerard frowns, "You can't eat it? Why?"

"It makes me ill," Frank explains. "It was fine when I was younger, but then I started getting ill so the doctors advised I become a vegetarian."

"Oh," Gerard says. "Do you miss meat?"

"Not really," Frank tells him. "I haven't had it in years, so I've forgotten what it tastes like."

Gerard nods, pushing some hair out of his face. He moves his attention to the sandwich, once again sniffing it and pulling a face. Slowly and cautiously, he bites into the sandwich. The three different textures enter his mouth at the same time, offering a variety of flavours. He chews it a couple of times, giving it a chance. But he decides it's not his thing, and his face scrunches up.

"Put it in this," Frank hands him a tissue. "It isn't everyone's thing."

"Disgusting," Gerard mumbles after putting the food in a tissue and rolling it up. "You tricked me!"

"No, I said you should try it," Frank points out. "And I used to like it, so I thought you would too."

Gerard's ears turn red when he realises he's wrong. "Sorry."

"Thank you for apologising," Frank replies. "Now, let's go get some nicer food, shall we?"

"Yes!" Gerard says, standing up.

-

The queue for Burger King is long and Gerard stays close to Frank. There's kids running around, parents telling them to sit back down, and babies crying. It's starting to give Frank a headache, and he rubs at his temples.

"Frank," Gerard says, tapping Frank's shoulder. "My ankles hurting."

Frank's attention switches to Gerard. "Do you think you can stand for much longer?" He asks. "Or do you want to go back to Samantha?"

Gerard shakes his head. "Want to get food," he says.

"Okay, let me know if you change your mind."

A couple of minutes pass, and as Frank and Gerard step forward, Gerard's ankle gives way. He lets out a cry, and finds himself falling into Frank. Luckily, he's caught. "Okay, I think we need to go back to the table."

Although he's teary eyed and in pain, Gerard shakes his head in protest. He pushes himself out of Frank's arms and stands on his feet again. However it doesn't go as planned, and he grabs Frank's shirt as he falls again. He uses his other hand to wipe his eyes, "Okay," he says in defeat.

Frank supports him back to the table, his arm around Gerard's waist and Gerard's around Frank's neck. They walk slowly, and Frank can see how much it's taking Gerard not to cry. "There we go," Frank says as he helps Gerard sit at the table. "You can let your ankle rest now."

"Oh shit, is he okay?" Samantha asks Frank, talking about Gerard as if he isn't there.

"Not exactly, his ankle's playing up," Frank explains, putting his hand on Gerard's back. He looks at Gerard and kneels down. "Do you want me to go and get you food?"

"No, Samantha can," Gerard says, rubbing his eyes with balled fists. "I want you to stay with me."

Frank finds himself smiling. "All right."

-

After they eat, Gerard doesn't protest against using the wheelchair. Samantha pushes it, and Frank engages in conversation with Gerard as he walks next to him.

"Can we go in there?" Gerard asks, pointing to a reptile and bug house. "It looks cool."

The reptile house is a small building about the same size as Frank's living room. The outside walls are painted green and have cartoon snakes on them, with windows with wood around them. The trio enters, walking straight into a room with green carpeted floors and a large cushioned bench against the wall that curls around the room.

"Hi," a tall woman with dark hair smiles at them. "Would you like to see some of the animals we keep here?"

Frank looks at Gerard, and tells the woman that they would when Gerard says yes. They sit on the cushioned bench, waiting for the woman to come back from the back room. She's back within moments, two snakes wrapped around her arm. One's red, black and cream, and the other is white, red, and a light orange (almost a caramel colour).

"These are milk snakes," the woman explains. "It's thought that they live everywhere in America, bar the West coast. A lot of people have them as pets, and this is because they don't have any threat to humans."

Gerard seems to be in his element. He's smiling and listening to every word that's spoken. "Am I allowed to hold it?" He asks.

"Of course!" The woman smiles. "Put your arm out," she says. "And then I can transfer him to you."

Gerard puts his arm out, watching eagerly as the snake is transformed to his arm. It wraps itself around Gerard's arm and lays it's head in the bend of his elbow. "Look!" He says happily to Frank. "You should hold one too. They feel nice," he turns his head back to the woman quickly, "Can I pet him?"

"Go for it," the woman smiles, watching with Samantha and Frank as Gerard's finger pad softly runs over the snake's head. "Would you like to hold this one?" She asks Frank.

"Sure," Frank says. He lets the snake be placed on his arm, and watches as it slithers up to rest on his shoulder.

"My one is lazy," Gerard laughs, looking at Frank. "He likes to rest, but yours likes to move."

"Maybe your's is tired," Frank says, tensing briefly as the snake moves down Frank's chest, only to curl up on his lap.

"No, just lazy," Gerard insists.

After the snakes, the woman shows them a large breed of cockroach and glass prints of extinct butterflies. No one wants to hold the cockroach, and it makes Frank's skin crawl even after it's been taken away. At least it wasn't spiders, Frank thinks.

"After this I think we need to get going," Samantha says. "There might be traffic on the way back."

Gerard whines, "I don't wanna," he frowns. "I like the zoo, and I like chatting with Frank."

"We can come back another time," Frank promises. "And we can do other things, there's loads of different things to do."

Gerard sighs, "Okay," he says. He looks at the woman as she comes back out, eyes widening. "Is that a tarantula?" He asks.

"It is," the woman smiles as she gets closer, missing the way Frank tenses up. "Not a lot of people like them," she kneels in front of them. "But they really aren't that bad."

Gerard turns to Frank, "Will you hold it?" He asks. "I wanna pet it but...not hold."

Frank, who's terrified of spiders, swallows his pride. He needs to set a good example, right? And how bad can it really be? "I don't see why not." He cups his hands together and tries not to scream as the spider crawls into his hand. It feels disgusting, but Frank keeps his comments back.

"He looks fluffy," Gerard says. He raises his hand and slowly pets it. He makes a face, "He doesn't feel it though."

"What do you think he feels like?" The woman asked. "One person said that the feeling reminded them of dog fur."

"Not like dog fur," Gerard shakes his hair. "It's like...wiry."

"I agree," the woman says. "It's definitely wiry."

As Gerard continues to pet it, Samantha kneels next to the woman and takes a picture. "Both of you look at me and smile," she says, waiting until both of them do to take another picture. "Perfect."

-

"C'mon Gerard, we haven't got all day," Samantha says, stood with Gerard and Frank as Gerard tries to decide between the lion and zebra toy. "We need to get home soon."

"But I can't decide!" Gerard frowns. "I like both of them."

Frank applies another lot of hand sanitiser to his hands. He can't get the feeling of the spider off him. "How about," he says, getting Gerard's attention. He pulls his wallet out,

"You buy one from your allowance, and I'll get you the other."

"Frank," Samantha says. "You don't need to do that."

"I want to," Frank says, his words coming out cockier than intended.

They leave the zoo with Gerard happily holding two toys on his lap. Frank helps him in the back of the car and does his seat belt for him, before getting in the car himself.

On the way back, Samantha is occupied by her phone, and Gerard's fast asleep. Frank makes sure to check on him in the mirror every so often, just in case.

-

"You did really well with him," Samantha tells Frank when they get back to the orphanage. "I think he's taken a liking to you."

"Yeah?" Frank asked with a smile. "I'm glad."

"Definitely," Samantha takes her seat belt off. "I'll get the wheelchair from the boot, you mind waking him up?"

"Not at all."

"Just be aware that he might be a little grumpy."

Frank gets out and opens Gerard's door. The young male is fast asleep with his head lolling to the side. The zebra toy is on the floor, but the lion is being clutched to Gerard's chest. "Gerard," Frank says softly. He taps his shoulder, "You wanna wake up so we can get you inside?"

Gerard whines quietly, moving in his seat. His eyes open slightly and he squints at Frank before closing them again. "Comfy. Not moving."

"If you let me get your belt off, I'm sure I can get you in the chair without you having to move."

Gerard sighs dramatically. "Okay."

Realising that Gerard's too tired to properly register information, Frank carefully sits Gerard up and takes his seat belt off. He hooks his arm under Gerard's knees and one round his back. He picks him up slightly and lets him lean into Frank, before skillfully getting him out of the car and placing him into his wheelchair that Samantha put there.

"I'll leave the door open, do you mind bringing the other toy and the bag in?"

"I'll be right in."

Frank's true to his word, and brings the two items in. Gerard's more awake now, but still evidently tired.

"Thank you for taking me out," Gerard says with a yawn. " I had fun."

"My pleasure," Frank smiles. He stands in front of Gerard and hands him the lion.

"Can we go to the park next time?" Gerard asks, arms now full with the soft toys.

"Whatever you like," Frank promises. "I've got to get going, but I'll be back soon to see you and Mark."

"Okay," Gerard says. "Get home safely."

Frank drives home feeling like he's accomplished something. He knows that he and Gerard have properly made a bond now, and he hopes that it progresses enough so that Gerard's happy for Frank to adopt him as his son.


	5. (Everyone's) Coming Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a filler chapter, but hey, at least I didn't take a month to update this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I really want to thank everyone for such lovely/encouraging comments and thank you for all the kudos too! It's so nice to see and I love knowing what you guys think of this! This is a bit of a filler chapter, but I think it's needed - it just shows more of the (non-romantic) relationships Frank has with people and how he is around them. Anyway, enough of me rambling, and onto the actual chapter!

"So," Amy takes a drag of her cigarette. Her and Frank are outside together, getting away from Patrick as he has a go at the new intern for messing up an order. Amy leans against the stone wall at the back of the restaurant, looking at Frank in the faded street lamp light. She can just about see him, yet she still thinks he looks flattering in the (lack of) lighting. "How was it? The zoo?"

"It was good," Frank nods. He notices Amy offer him the cigarette and takes it from her. "He's sweet, like, really sweet. His ankle gave way about half way through the day though, but we had his wheelchair so it wasn't as if it was the end of the day there and then." He takes a long drag and lets the smoke out through his mouth, "I have a meeting with Mark tomorrow afternoon. No doubt it's about how it went on Saturday."

"Did he not say anything about it on the day?" Amy asks, taking her cigarette back.

"Wasn't there," Frank wraps his arms around himself. The wind is getting stronger, and the tips of ears have turned red. "Had to go somewhere, so Samantha came instead. She was...all right, I guess. On her phone for most the time."

Amy made a face and shook her head. "That isn't right. Imagine if something serious had have happened to Gerard and she was too busy seeing if someone had liked her selfie to notice?"

Frank shrugs, "I don't know Amy," he watches as she puts the cigarette out. "But I do know that I'm freezing, it's almost closing up time, and I could kill for a drink. Fancy coming to a bar a few blocks away? I'll drive us, drop you home."

Amy's cheeks would turn red if they weren't already that colour from the sharpness of the wind. "Sure," she smiles, pushing some hair behind her ear. "Yeah, that'd be great."

They wait until the last couple have eaten before putting the 'closed' sign up. Patrick, Jackson, and the others leave first, bidding their goodbyes. Jackson asks Amy if she'd like a lift back, and looks slightly disappointed when she declines the offer.

"I think he likes you," Frank says as he pulls his jacket on. "Like, really, likes you."

"Jackson? Nah, he's just protective," Amy shrugs. She pushes some chairs under the table, "He's got a girlfriend."

"Oh, I had no idea," Frank says. "Anyway, ready to go?"

Amy nods, and with that, they make their way out of the restaurant.

-

The bar Frank takes Amy too is one of his favourites. He used to come here with Ray when they came home from college. The bar is averagely sized and doesn't have a strict theme, but there are often tribute rock bands and the odd local band here and there. The booths are cushioned with soft, blue leather and the tables are a light brown. The bar is often tended by Kath - a drop out college student who always rings taxis for people she doesn't trust to walk home alone. Of course there's a stage at the other end of the bar for bands to play on, with speakers and microphone stands on. On each table is not a number, but instead a name of a classic rock band. Frank and Amy sit down at 'Bon Jovi'.

"What do you want to drink?" Frank asks. It's a weekday, so the bar isn't as loud as it could be, and espeically isn't as loud as it is on weekends. "I'm paying."

"Anything's fine," Amy takes her jacket off. "I wish I could have changed out of my work clothes before coming," she says with a shy smile.

"You look fine," Frank says, shrugging it off. "And I'll get you a beer, you good with that?"

"Uh, yeah, perfect," Amy says.

Frank goes up to the bar and orders two beers. He hears his stomach rumbles, and because he knows the bar has already stopped serving food, he also orders a large packet of chips.

"Fancy sharing these?" Frank puts the chips down on the table before sliding into his seat opposite Amy. He places their beers down, "I don't know about you, but I'm starved," he wastes no time in opening the bag.

"I'm not really much of a chips person," Amy takes a swig of her beer, and tries to hide her disguted expression at the bitterness of it as she swallows. "But I don't have the option to be picky, I haven't eaten since lunch."

"You should have said!" Frank says after eating a handful of chips. "I would have taken you for a meal. Maybe next time."

Amy blushes. _Next time?_ She thinks.  
-

Frank finds out Amy's a lightweight within an hour and a half. She's had more than Frank to drink - she's on her fifth and he's on his third, and she's swaying back and forth to the music that's playing through the speakers.

"I love this song!" Amy exclaims. She reaches over to Frank and grabs his wrist, nearly knocking both their drinks over. She looks him in the eye, "Come dance with me!"

"I don't dance," Frank laughs, looking away from and using his hand to softly move Amy's hand off his wrist. "I would otherwise."

Amy stands up, taking Frank's hand, "Oh come on, everyone dances!" She's strong for a person of her height, because she pulls Frank out of the booth with just two tries. "Even old men who don't shave enough," she grins, leaning up to Frank's face so she's able to pat his stubble.

"Hey, I'm not old," Frank moves his head back to avoid Amy's intoxicated breath. "I'm just older than you."

"Whatever," Amy says with a roll of her eyes. She pulls Frank onto the empty space in front of the stage. A couple of people are up and talking - moving side to side. Frank doesn't think it can be classed as dancing, though. "Let's just dance!"

Frank watches as Amy starts throwing her head back and forth - swinging her arms back and forth. Frank steps back - scared of getting hit in the face with how high Amy's fists are going. "Amy..." He trails off, but can't help but laugh as she starts playing air guitar to a song that's mainly drum based.

"Come on!" Amy exclaims, holding Frank's hand and swinging them back and forth. "Dance with me!"

"I think we need to get you back home," Frank says, ignoring the looks they're getting off the other people in the bar. "Don't you have classes tomorrow?"

"Not until one!" Amy says, letting go of Frank's hand and starting to swing her hips again. "I could stay out _all_ night if I wanted to!"

"Yes, but you're not," Frank takes Amy by the wrist and leads her over to the table, making sure not to be too rough with her. "Now let's go."

Amy huffs, "Can we at least get some food first?" She asks before downing the rest of her drink. She doesn't put it down - but slams it down so hard that Frank's surprised it doesn't smash.

-

Frank buys both of them Chinese take out from a little Chinese restaurant down the street. Although he hates people eating in his car, he makes an exception when Amy complains about the cold so much. Not to mention he'll get her home quicker.

"This is so good," Amy says with half a mouthful of egg fried rice. "I love food. We should do more Chinese food. People would love it!"

"Ah yes, an Italian themed restaurant that does Chinese food, brilliant idea."

"Variety, Frank!" Amy exclaims before eating another mouthful.

Frank shakes his head and puts the radio on, trying to ignore Amy for a couple of seconds. They've been on nights out together before with work, and so he knows where she lives from dropping her off so many times. But never before has she gotten this drunk. In fact, she usually only has one drink then doesn't touch any other alcoholic beverages.

When they reach her block of flats, Frank can't deny the wave of relief he feels. He turns to look at his employee - sauce and rice all over her face. "Is your flatmate in?"

Amy nods, "She's awake." She grabs her bag and holds her Chinese takeout box close to her chest. She opens the door, "Thanks for the night out, Frank."

"Anytime," Frank replies. "I'll see you Tuesday." He watches as Amy gets out of the car and slams the door shut a bit too hard, before stumbling into the block of flats. Even if she is completely drunk, Frank enjoyed her company.

-

"Sounds like you had a good time," Linda says as she and Frank are walking around the grocery store. "Have you found out why Mark wasn't there? And can you get me that jar of jam?"

Frank stops in his tracks and gets the jar of jam from the shelf his mother can't reach, before placing it in the cart for her. "Something important came up and he couldn't make it. He'll probably explain later."

"Well I hope it's good reason," Linda starts to walk again. "He was meant to be with you, not that useless girl. She doesn't even sound like she cared about how the day went."

"Yeah I know," Frank puts a loaf of bread in the cart for his mother.

"So how long until you'll exactly have Gerard at home?" Linda asks as she looks at the different brands of tinned soup.

"About two weeks," Frank replies. "Depending on Gerard's willingness to be adopted, that is."

"I'm sure he'll want to be adopted," Linda replies. "The poor boy's been in that orphanage for what - five years? He needs a family again."

"He was fostered a while back," Frank points to the best tinned soup and watches his mother put it in the cart. "But they couldn't afford to adopt him."

"Oh the poor thing," Linda sighs. "Well at least we know you'll give him a good home, and he'll have a family to call his own."

Frank finds himself smiling. He knows how excited his mother is to be a grandmother - even if she isn't expressing it at this current time.

-

"Frank! Come in," Mark smiles as he opens the door wider for Frank to step inside. "I apologise I couldn't make it on Saturday, something came up."

"No worries," Frank says as he follows Mark down the hallway. "I hope everything's okay."

Mark opens his office door and let's Frank in. "I was called to go and see a family," he explains, shutting the door. He sits down in his chair, looking at Frank, "I can't go into details due to confidentiality reasons, but all I'll say is that I knew that child shouldn't have been left with that family."

Frank frowns. "No one's dead, right?"

"What? No!" Mark says quickly. "Just...well, I can't say. But it was bad, and they'll be a court case and therapy sessions for sure."

"Oh wow," Frank says, sitting back in his chair. He didn't think it was going to be that serious - but then again, he should have known it must have been something this serious for Mark not to be there for Gerard. "I didn't think it was that bad."

"Comes with the job," Mark shrugs. "But enough of that, Samantha tells me you and Gerard got on well."

 _How the fuck would she know with her nose in her phone all day?_ Is Frank's first thought. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah it was a good day, Gerard's great."

"He's warming up to you," Mark says. "Went on about you all day Sunday when he saw me. He's even named the Lion after you."

Frank smiles, "Really?"

"He's never warmed up to anyone this quickly," Mark says. "It took him months to trust me."

Frank can't help but feel over the moon with joy. He had worried for ages whether or not he and Gerard would actually get on, but hearing this, it knocks down all the anxieties he had. "I'm glad," it's an understatement, "I wanted to make a good impression."

"You've done so," Mark replies. "The adoption papers I sent off for you should be back soon, but in the mean time, would you like to take Gerard out again?" He asks.

"Depending on Gerard's preference, and yours of course, neither myself or Samantha have to be there."

"I'd love to spend more time with him," Frank says. "And you can come if you want, whatever Gerard's most comfortable with."

"You know what Frank," Mark leans forward, holding his hands together. He smiles, "You really are going to be a good father to him."


	6. Actions Speak Louder Than Words (But That's Not Always A Good Thing)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for; an anxiety attack, mention of blood, blood (nothing extreme, I promise), mentions of self-harm, and medication.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The summary makes this sound so dark, wow. Anyway, look who actually updated! Woo! As always, thank you for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! They all mean so much! Also, shout out to @snailthesaints for pointing out something in this story I didn't even realise, and it has now helped me with future chapters and ideas for this work!

If there's one thing that's Mark's mastered since starting to work at the orphanage, it's getting work done whilst there's a lot of noise. The screams of excitement and cries don't distract him from his work -unless the cry is one of help, of course-. He's also mastered how to get work done, despite headaches and distractions that come around. Today, is one of those days. His forehead is aching and it's extremely noisy, especially because it's just after lunch and all of the children are energised, but it's really nothing new.

The door to Mark's office opens with a squeak - he really needs to get knew hinges. However, he doesn't bother looking up, and instead, he keeps his head down as he types files out on his computer, the little buttons 'clicking' under the pads of his fingers

"Mark," it's Chelsea. "Samantha sent me here, 'cause she needs you."

"What does she need?" Mark asks. 

"Uh..." Chelsea trails off, fiddling with her fingers. She scrunches her eyebrows together and looks at her feet as she tries to remember. "Oh yeah!" She says, it suddenly coming back to her. "She needs help upstairs, 'cause Gerard's having an an'iety thing."

"A what?" Mark asks, leaning forward to look at Chelsea, his computer to the side of his desk. 

"The thing!" Chelsea says, trying to show the importance of the situation but coming off as frustrated instead. She stamps her foot when Mark doesn't show any signs of understanding, still. "Just come on!"

Mark follows Chelsea, and finds that the noise is much louder now that he's left his office. There's music blasting from upstairs - not doubt it's Mandy. In the lounge, all the younger children are running around and screaming, and Mark is starting to have problems with ignoring his headache.

Chelsea leads Mark upstairs and when they get to the top step, the screaming from downstairs fades out a little, or at least enough to allow the two to hear crying coming from the bathroom.

That's when Mark works it out. Chelsea had meant 'anxiety attack', when she had said 'anxiety thing'. Mark rushes towards the room the crying is coming from - the bathroom, and doesn't hesitate to go in.

Inside the bathroom, Gerard's backed up into the corner that's made by the side of the bath and the sink. He's sat with his body slumped into the sink, and he's visibly shaking. Samantha is crouched down in front of him, with her hand on Gerard's knee, trying to calm him down.

"When did this start?" Mark asks, joining Samantha in front of Gerard. He'd talk to Gerard directly, but he knows that Gerard isn't able to produce coherent sentences when in this state.

"About five minutes ago," Samantha turns to look at Mark. "It was all right at first, just crying. And he was settling down but then it progressed. I would have gotten you sooner but I didn't want to leave him on his own."

"No worries," Mark says. "What brought this on?" He asks, feeling Gerard grip onto his hand. Mark wraps his fingers and thumb around Gerard's hand. He turns to Gerard, and when Gerard lifts his head, Mark's question is answered for him.  
Gerard's got a cut just under his cheekbone, and it's bleeding - the blood running down his face in a thin line, just about covering the corner of his lip.

Mark's shocked to say the least - and he can't get his words out for a couple of seconds. When he does, they come out in horrified stutters. "Ge-Gerard what the hell did you do!?" He asks in panic.

The words prove to be too sharp for Gerard though, and it only makes his state of anxiety worse and he squeezes Mark's hand harder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you more," Mark says. He decides to try a softer approach, "I'm not mad, just shocked. That's all," he pushes some hair out of Gerard's eyes, and wipes a couple of tears whilst his hand is there, though they're quickly replaced with new ones.

It takes another twenty minutes to get Gerard to calm down enough to listen to Mark, and even then, he's hiccuping.

"Samantha will be back with your tablets any moment," Mark says, gently holding some scrunched up toilet paper against the cut on Gerard's cheek. "In the mean time, do you want to tell me what happened?"

Gerard starts hyperventilating, and shakes his head, which causes the blood to be smeared across his cheek. He feels like he's not able to breath again, which causes his anxiety to flare back up and the hyperventilating worsen.

"Hey hey hey, no need to panic," Mark says quietly, trying to reassure Gerard and prevent another anxiety attack from occurring. "We can talk about it later, okay?"

Samantha comes back in with Gerard's tablet and the first aid kit, Chelsea trailing after her with a bottle of water. "Thanks Chelsea," Samantha says with a small smile, setting the items down on the floor and taking the bottled water from her. "I'll be down shortly," she says, waiting for the small girl to leave before turning her attention to Gerard and Mark.

For once, Gerard doesn't fuss about taking his tablets. He takes two and allows Mark to clean the cut on his face, all whilst staying pretty still.  
"There we go, all done," Mark says, leaning back before standing up. "Don't touch it, it'll aggravate it."

Gerard nods, before letting Samantha help him up to his feet. He rubs his eye, whimpering when he accidentally rubs the knuckle of his thumb against the cut. He steps over to Mark and lays his head against his shoulder.

"Go rest in your room, and I'll call you down when dinner's ready," Mark says, running his hand over the back of Gerard's head. "You can choose the film for everyone to watch tonight, that sound good?"

Opting to remain non-verbal for the time being, Gerard pulls back and nods his head. He reaches out for the water bottle that Samantha's holding, and leaves the bathroom when she gives it to him.

"How did he even do that?" Samantha whispers to Mark. "We keep all the razors out of sight of anyone who might do harm to themselves."

"I don't know," Mark sighs. He kneels down, putting things back in the first aid box. "I'm sure he'll tell me eventually, he usually does."

"You're right," Samantha replies. "Anyway, I'm going to go down and make sure the others are all right."

"Very well," Mark says. Just as Samantha's about to leave, however, he calls out for her again. "Any luck finding a new place to live?"

"None at all," Samantha says, turning around and leaning against the door frame. "I looked through apartments the other day, when I went out with Gerard and Frank. I must have looked through at least fifteen, but none of them are close enough or in my price range." She rungs a hand through her hair, "I have no idea what I'm going to do."

"If it comes to it, you can move in with me," Mark promises. "I'll have to talk to Nathan about it, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

Samantha has the smallest of smiles on her lips. "Thanks, Mark. Really, I appreciate it."

-

The rest of the evening, Gerard isn't his normal self. He sits on his own whilst the film is on, and goes straight to to his room the moment it finishes. As for his dinner, he ate the bare minimum, barely touched his drink, and once again, was in his room.

Mark knocks three times on Gerard's door before he enters. The lights are off and the curtains are shut, and Gerard's curled up with the duvets over him. Mark shuts the door after him and makes his way over. "I know you're not sleeping," he says, despite Gerard's eyes being closed. He kneels down so he's eye level with Gerard. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Tired," Gerard mumbles, before turning to face Mark. "Wanna sleep."

Mark doesn't think he can argue with that logic - and it's rare that Gerard actually sleeps on time. It's even rarer that he sleeps on his own accord. He stands up, "Samantha's on the night shift tonight, I'll be gone in three hours. You know where I'll be until then if you need me," he says, and leaves.

-

When Mark's in the bathroom later on, he finds something that worries him deeply. Where Gerard was sat, there's a pink razor - the ones that some of the older residents of the orphanage use. Mark picks it up and inspects it; seeing faint speckles of blood along the sharp blade. He inhales sharply before going down to speak to Samantha about it.

-

"Self-harm?" Samantha frowns. "I don't think so, Mark. What would drive him to do that?"

"That's what I mean," Mark sighs, sitting down at the table with his colleague. "I have no idea."

Samantha holds the razor between her fingers. "I don't think Gerard has it in him to do it, thankfully. And besides, if he was going to, surely he'd do it somewhere no one would notice?"

"I don't know," Mark says honestly, putting his coffee down and resting his face in his hands.

"I'm almost sure it isn't self-harm," Samantha puts her hand on Mark's back, to comfort him. "You go home and I'll talk to him before school tomorrow. What time are you coming in?"

"Seven, but I'll be doing the interviews for new staff," Mark replies. "So I won't have time to see any of you, really. Just let me know what happens if I have a spare moment."

"I will do," Samantha replies. "Now get home, Nathan will be worried sick about you."

 


	7. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I UPLOADED THIS TO ANYWHERE BUT HERE FIRST, SO IF YOU READ THAT ONE TOO AND THOUGHT I UPDATED IT, I APOLOGISE.
> 
> Warning for the mention of self-harm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the wonderful comments and kudos, as always! They mean a lot!

The following morning is far from easy. The orphanage is crowded with people, all waiting for their interviews with Mark. To add to the chaos, Chelsea had spilt her cereal all over Mandy at the breakfast table, which caused Mandy to be unnecessarily angry and start arguments. And on top of all of that,it took Samantha half an hour just to get Gerard out of bed.

"So," Samantha says. She's driving Gerard to school, the others preferring to walk, and the younger ones having already been dropped off. "You fancy telling me how you got that cut?"

"No," Gerard replies, turning his head to look out of the window. He uses the tip of his finger to trace the pattern formed by raindrops on the outer window, "Don't want to."

Samantha holds back a sigh. Gerard doesn't seem to have shifted his mood from yesterday at all. "We're worried, you know," she says. It's not a guilt trip, she means it. "Especially Mark, you know how much he cares for you."

"Oh," is all that Gerard replies with, before deciding to play with one of the straps of his bag.

Deciding she'll try and get Gerard to talk to her later, Samantha turns the radio on. It always seems to help Gerard with his nerves.

-

"So?" Mark asks, stood in the kitchen when Samantha walks in. Under his eyes are decorated with bags, and his lips are chapped. "Anything?"

"Nothing," Samantha replies, getting a mug from the cupboard. She turns to look at her boss, "I take it you didn't sleep?"

"That would be correct," Mark says with a small smile. "Didn't help that Nathan had to go out early this morning."

"With any luck," Samantha pours some hot water into her mug from the kettle, "he'll open up later on, and if not, we'll work something out."

"I hope so," Mark replies, before using his hand to cover his mout when he yawns. "I've got to go and continue with the interviews, you know where I am if you need me."

"I do," Samantha nods.

-

Samantha's office is slightly smaller than Mark's. It's got a window that overlooks the garden, which is a blessing for when Samantha needs to keep her eye on the children but also has work to finish off. Her office isn't nearly as crowded as Mark's, seeing as she hasn't got to keep all of the files in her cupboards. Her computer is an older model than Mark's, but runs just as well, and above her computer, on the wall, is where she puts all of the pictures that the children make for her.

Today isn't the nicest of days. It's drizzling with rain and it looks like there'll be a storm later on. Samantha makes a note of putting hot food on for dinner, and not sandwiches. After she's shut the window and loaded her computer up, Samantha tries to think about what could be bothering Gerard so much.

When Gerard is dealing with situations that might make him act out, there's two ways it can play out. Either it'll bother him so much that he talks to someone (usually Mark) about it, or he'll keep it to himself, act out, and then refuse to talk about it. This time, it seems like the latter is what's happened.

Whilst there are rules and regulations, as well as policies in place to keep the children safe and happy, they don't always work. You could set all the rules, or be as laid back as you wanted to, but it could still fail to have a positive impact on the children.

What Samantha's learnt, is that you really have to treat each child like an individual. A rule can be applied to each one of them - but they'll follow it differently and it'll have a different effect on each of them. For example - the bedtime rule. Although it's hard to get some of them to bed, they do all (eventually) go to bed. However, they all spend the time up to bedtime differently. Some wash, others colours, some watch TV, it all depends. Some even go to bed earlier than they have to.

Sometimes there's situations where individuals are jealous of others because they have different rules (due to age, abilities, etc). Sometimes it's hard to explain why there're different rules - like why Gerard can't go out on his own even though the other individuals his age are allowed to.

Samantha's brought out of her thoughts when her phone starts ringing. The caller ID shows it as the last person she wants to be talking to at this very time. "Hey mom. What's up?"

"I'm calling to see if you've decided to take up my offer yet."

"I told you, it's not for me. I don't want you to set me up with someone who's your friend's son and never have to work a day in my life."

"But Samantha, you're not doing very well for yourself right now. You lost your flat, you have a low paying job, you-"

"Bye mom," and with that, Samantha hangs up. She lays her head on the table and kicks under her desk in frustration before taking a deep breath, and getting on with work.

-

It's just turning one o'clock when Samantha's about to go out for her lunch break. Usually she brings food with her and eats at her desk, but with her packing her belongings up at home, there isn't much to store her food in. She grabs her coat off the railing and puts it on. She reaches for the door handle but is stopped when her phone starts ringing from her pocket. She takes it out, and to her shock, it's the high school calling.

"Hello, Samantha speaking."

"Hello Miss Lavert, I'm calling because I need you to come in and see the principle. It's concerning Gerard."

Samantha's anxiety raises rapidly in only a short expansion of time. "Is he okay?"

"I think so," the receptionist replies. "He just seems upset, and school doesn't seem to be the best location for him to be at right now."

"Right, okay," Samantha opens the door. "I'll be there shortly."

-

In Gerard's defence, he didn't think he would get caught ditching classes. People do it all the time, and they never seem to get caught. Looking back on it, maybe going to his first class and trying to ditch the rest had been the mistake he had made. Surely they wouldn't have thought anything of his absence if he had just hidden under the bleachers all day. But no, he was found just before lunch by a teacher, and even if Gerard was soaking wet, he had put up a fight to be taken back inside.

Now, he's sat in the nurses office. His clothes are soaked, but he refuses to take them off. The nurse is rambling on about how Gerard is probably going to get the flu, but Gerard's doing his best to drown her out. He knows Samantha's going to be here soon, making Gerard determined to keep what's been bugging him to himself.

  
"Gerard, are you even listening?"

Gerard looks up at the nurse, shrugging his shoulders. He doesn't feel like using his words right now. Heck, he doesn't even want to be in school.

-

"Ditching class?" Samantha frowns, sat opposite the principle. Her coat is soaking and her hair isn't far off, either. "That doesn't sound lke Gerard, are you sure he isn't being bullied?"

"One of our students said he saw Gerard purposely walk out to the playing field, and the teacher who found him said that it seemed to be more of a choice that he was sat out there, rather than forced."

Samantha runs her hands over her face and sits back in the chair. She looks right at the principle, "I don't know what's upsetting him," she admits. "He cut his face yesterday and we there's the possibility it's self harm and-"

The principle puts his hand up to stop Samantha. "If he seems to be having these problems outside of school, maybe it's a personal issue instead of it being one raised at school," he says. "I think it's wise if he takes the rest of the week off. It's not so much of a punishment, but a... Solution. It might not be wise for him to be here when facing problems that're causing him to act out."

Samantha takes a couple of minutes to take it in. "Okay..." She trails off. "But I don't want him falling behind with the work, could you ask the teachers to email me the work?"

The principle nods his head, "Of course. Take Gerard home and get in touch if you have any worries or have any information that needs to be shared."

-

After a silent car journey home and the rejection to go to his favourite cafe, Gerard goes straight upstairs. Samantha watches him but doesn't call him back, figuring out that he needs time to himself.

By now it's half past two, and Samantha has to go back out to pick up the younger ones. Before doing so, however, she sticks her head into Mark's office. "Sorry to disturb," she says to Mark and the interviewee. "I just picked Gerard up, he ditched class. He's upstairs and the principle has said for him to take the rest of the week off," she watches as Mark's face drops and grows with worry. "I've got to go do the school run, but keep an eye on him."

"Of course," Mark's lost all interest in the interview. "I'll be sure to check in on him once I've finished up here."

Samantha, not surprised by her boss's reaction, gives a small smile and nods her head before exiting the room.

-

"Who the fuck orders one hundred fish that have to be cooked straight away all at once?!" Frank asks, voice raised and fists balled up so tightly that the veins are showing in his hands. "I give you one job, Dexter! And you fuck that up!"

Dexter, for the first time since starting to work for Frank, is scared of the shorter man. He had no idea that Frank could get so angry over things. "Look, I didn't mean to, it's just that-"

Frank doesn't let Dexter finished his sentence, "I don't care! I'm not going to be here as much once the adoption papers are finalised, I need to know that I can trust my staff with simple tasks." He wipes his hands over his face, takes a deep breath, and with his hands flat on the counter, he looks at Dexter. "Bring the stock sheets to my office and I'll see if I can fix this. You're lucky I'm not firing you, and that's only because I don't have anyone to take your place," he says, before walking out of the kitchen and to his office.

This day has been nothing but stress for Frank. The new waitress messed up a whole table of orders and lost profits, three of his staff are off with the flu, and Dexter messed up the fish order so badly that Frank's lost even more profits.

Leaning back in his chair, Frank closes his eyes. He counts down from ten and clenches and unclenches his fists, trying to rid his body of all its tension. He only opens his eyes a couple of minutes later, due to a knock at his door. "Come in."

Amy comes in, shutting the door behind her and placing the stock order on Frank's desk. "Dexter told me to bring these to you."

Frank scoffs and leans forward, looking at the sheet. "He can't even do a simple task himself."

Amy frowns and sits next to the desk, "You seem under a lot of stress."

Frank snorts, "No fucking shit," he mumbles. He reads over the sheets and looks up when Amy doesn't reply, only to see an expression of hurt decorating her features. Guilt finds its way into Frank's system. "Sorry, that was rude," he says, putting his hand on Amy's knee. "I shouldn't take it out on you, you've not done anything wrong. I am stressed, but that isn't an excuse to take it out on someone who's not at blame."

Amy's cheeks have turned red, and slowly, she puts her shaky hand over Frank. It takes almost all of her courage to give it a small squeeze, "You're stressed, I get it," she looks at him, "I was going to go and grab a drink after work, fancy joining me?"

"Not tonight," Frank says, missing the way Amy's lips turn downwards into a frown. "Maybe next time, yeah?"

"Sure," Amy nods and gets up. "I better be getting back out there, don't want to let Dexter mess up anymore," she says with a forced laugh. She turns to the door, gripping the door handle.

"Amy, wait," Frank calls out, not speaking again until Amy's facing him. He smiles, "Thanks for caring about me."

"Don't be silly," Amy says. "Of course I care."

-

Six o'clock finally rolls around, and Frank tells himself that he's able to make it another three hours. It won't be long now, he convinces himself. It's run smoother since the whole incident with Dexter. Frank can't change the stock order, so now they're going to have to throw most of the fish out, but Frank reminds himself that not everything runs smoothly, and that he has to accept that and move on. He gets up from his seat and gets his packet of cigarettes, just as his phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Frank, it's Mark. I'm ringing off my mobile," Mark explains. He sounds exhausted, "I was wondering if you could do me a favour."

Curious to as what Mark could want, Frank encourages him to go further into detail, "I'm listening."

"There's something upsetting Gerard," Mark starts with. "Samantha and I have tried to get him to talk but nothing seems to be working. It started yesterday when he cut his face, and-"

"How'd he cut his face?"

"Well, we found a razor, so-"

"Wait," Frank says, taken back as to what he's hearing. "Are you implying that he purposely did it? Like, self-harmed?"

Mark sighs, "It's the only conclusion we've been able to come to, seeing as he's refusing to open up. He was caught ditching class today, too, so we just don't what's going on."

Frank's sat down again, shocked to as what he's just been told. He'll admit that he doesn't know Gerard as well as Mark or Samantha, but from the way Gerard's been around Frank, the way Mark's spoken about him, and how worried Mark sounds right now, it's obviously out of character to be acting like this. "Fuck," is all he seems to be able to say.

"I know. Samantha and I were wondering if you'd be able to come down and see him. We're really worried, he won't even eat anything, but he might open up to you."

Frank purses his lips and looks at the clock. They're pretty busy, and he doesn't want to leave his staff (who aren't all in, anyway) under such pressure. But on the other side, he reasons, they'll have to deal with these situations when Frank isn't always here... "I'll be there in half an hour."

-

With Amy happy enough to cover for Frank and get overtime, Frank makes the journey to the orphange. He won't lie - he's pretty scared about Gerard and what's going through his head. If it is self harm, with the razor, then Frank suspects Mark will take Gerard to see a doctor or counsellor. Or maybe he'll pass that responsibility onto Frank. He has no idea.

However, when Frank pulls up to the orphanage and parks his car, he sees Gerard sat on the front door step with Samantha. Gerard looks anything but sad, and as soon as Frank gets out, Gerard's running over to him.

"You seem energetic," Frank smiles, watching as Gerard makes his way over to him.

As soon as he's close enough, Gerard hugs Frank, and although shocked at the action, Frank hugs him back. "Everything okay?"

Gerard shrugs his shoulders in response, and doesn't say a word as Frank rubs his back.

"Let's get inside," Samantha says from the door. "It's too cold to stay out here."

It's only when walking to the door that Frank notices the cut on Gerard's skin. It's not hard to see when the vibrant colour is against Gerard's pale skin, but Frank keeps his mouth shut for now. Instead, he kicks his shoes off and puts them under the stairs along with Gerard's.

"The living room's free, why don't you go in there?" Samantha suggests. "I'll get you both a drink."

As Frank lets Gerard lead him to the living room, a bubble of anxiety starts in his stomach. He isn't sure what he's meant to say, and whilst he knows they'll be more conversations like this if the adoption successfully goes through, he can't quite work out what to say on the topic that Gerard's possibly started self harming and going against the rules at school.

They sit down on the couch, and out of habit, Frank puts his feet up on the coffee table.

"You're not allowed to do that," Gerard frowns. "Mark said so."

Frank turns his head to look at Gerard after taking his feet off the table. "My apologies," he says. "Hey, what happened to your face?" He asks, trying to ask as casually as he can.

Gerard immediately covers the cut with his hand. He looks away, putting his arm over his stomach. "Nothing," he mumbles.

"Gerard," Frank says, voice stern but not scary. "Let me see."

"Nu-uh," Gerard says, turning his head the other way completely. "You'll think I'm stupid."

Frank frowns, "I would never do that," he promises. "You're far from stupid."

Gerard shakes his head, "Still don't wanna talk about it."

Frank takes another strategy. "Look," he says, waiting a few seconds until Gerard looking back at him. "I've got cuts too," he moves his head to the side, angling his jaw so Gerard can see the stubble that covers the skin. "I got this one from a shaving incident," he explains, pointing to a small cut that's barely there anymore. "And this one from the same thing, actually," he continues, moving his finger up his jaw to show Gerard another cut.

"I tried to shave," Gerard says. It's so quiet that Frank nearly misses it. "But, I didn't know how, and and and," he stutters.

"It's okay," Frank says softly, although shocked as to what Gerard said. He's relieved it wasn't an act of self harm, however. "Take a deep breath."

"All the others shave," Gerard says, rubbing his eyes as tears form. "Even Mandy, and she doesn't have a beard!"

Frank thinks he knows where this is going, "Do you feel left out, Gerard?"

Gerard nods his head slowly, before looking up at Frank. He sniffles, "Everyone treats me differently," he explains. "Even at school."

"Come here," Frank says. He opens his arms and lets Gerard move himself into them. "Do you want to talk about this with Mark?" He asks.

"He'll be mad," Gerard replies. "Think I'm stupid."

"No one is going to think that," Frank promises. "You can talk about it to me, if you want, and I'll tell Mark for you, does that sound good?"

"Okay," Gerard whispers.

-

The reason for Gerard's misbehaving, it turns out, is that he felt like he wasn't being treated fairly. He was irritated by how he had to go to bed earlier than the other people his age in the orphanage, or how he wasn't allowed out on his own like they were. Of course, there were reasons for this - ones that ensured his health and safety, as well as making sure he wasn't exhausted the next day. However, Gerard wasn't aware of these reasons, and Frank didn't feel like it was his place to tell him. As well as this, Gerard expressed how he hated the way teachers spoke to him differently and acted as if he was a child.

It made sense, Frank supposed. Gerard had tried to shave because he thought it would prove he didn't need to be treated differently. The others did it, and they got treated how Gerard wanted to be treated, so to Gerard, shaving equalled a change in the rules that were set for him.

As for the ditching of his class, it followed a similar theory. Gerard had seen other people (people who weren't spoken to as if they were a child) ditch class, and decided if he did it too, he would be treated how he wanted to.

"Gerard, you don't have anything to shave," Frank had said softly. "And as for school, they shouldn't speak to you as if you're a child, I agree," he really did. "But instead of acting out, it'd be wiser to talk to someone about it, okay? Always talk to someone you trust about this stuff, never act out or keep it to yourself."

"Okay, sorry," Gerard had mumbled.

Frank rubbed his back, "How about we go and see Mark?" He asked, feeling Gerard tense up. "Or, I'll go and see him, and you wait here?"

Gerard, having preferred that idea, agreed to it.

-

Whilst Mark was relieved it wasn't self harm, he still didn't like the situation. "What am I meant to tell him?" He asks, sat opposite Frank. "I can't tell him that he's brain injured and that he thinks differently so that we have to treat him differently, I don't know how he'd take it."

"Well, why don't you let him ask questions, and you answer them?" Frank suggests. "Like, if he asks why his bed time is earlier, you explain because he gets tired earlier, so it's best for him to go to bed to rest. If he asks why he can't shave, you explain that he doesn't need to - he doesn't have facial hair," Frank says. "Don't make him feel different from others, just show him that you care about him and you have his best interest. And it could be an idea to take him out when the other older children are allowed out. Empower him, don't control him."

Mark stares at Frank for a couple of seconds. "Maybe you should have my job," he laughs. "That's an excellent idea, though. Thank you, really."

"No problem," Frank says and gets up.

The two men walk out and go back to the living room, where Gerard's watching a film with some of the younger children, and Samantha.

"Frank has to go now," Mark says, getting the attention of them all. "Why don't you see him to the door, Gerard?"

Gerard frowns, "I don't want him to go," he whines, putting his head against the couch as he looks at them. "Can't he stay longer?"

"Visiting times are over," Mark says softly. "C'mon, see him out. I'm sure you'll see him again soon enough."

Gerard huffs dramatically before pushing himself up to his feet. He follows the two men to the door, but just as Mark's about to open it for Frank, Gerard speaks. "I'm hungry," he tells Mark. He turns to Frank, "Will you take me to McDonalds?"

Frank looks at Mark, not sure what to say. He has the time and money to - he just doesn't know if Mark will allow it.

"As long as Frank's willing," Mark replies.

"Get your coat on then," Frank says, looking at Gerard, who looks shocked. "I don't want you getting a cold."

When Gerard rushes off to get his coat, Mark turns to Frank. "Like you said, empower him, not control him."

-

Luckily, the queue in McDonalds isn't long, and Frank orders for the both of them before they sit down.

"What's it like not eating meat?" Gerard asks. "Is it weird?"

Frank doesn't point out that Gerard's asks similar questions before. "I don't mind it," he replies. "It helps my health, so it's the best option for me."

"Would it help me health?"

"I don't think so," Frank replies. "Besides, seeing the fact you made me get you twenty chicken nuggets, I think you'd miss it."

"It's 'cause meat is good," Gerard explains, picking up one of his chicken nuggets. "Good good good good, good."

Whilst Gerard makes his way though his food, Frank rings the restaurant to check in. After Amy insists it's all okay and expresses her relief that Gerard's okay, Frank hangs up.

"Don't want anymore," Gerard mumbles, pushing his box of chicken nuggets away from him, and starting on his chips.

Frank looks inside the box and sees almost half of them left. _At least Gerard is eating_ , he thinks.

-

"Thanks for taking me out," Gerard says as Frank pulls into the orphanage car park. "Was hungry."

"No problem," Frank replies. He turns to Gerard, "Do you promise to talk to people if you need to?"

Gerard nods his head, "Do you count as one of the people I can talk to?"

"Of course."


	8. Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ideas for this fic just keep coming and coming, and I honestly have to stop myself from updating it again the day after posting a chapter (reasons being that I like to let my ideas develop over the days and change the way scenes are set up and so on).
> 
> As always, thank you for the wonderful feedback and kudos, and bookmarks too!

Two days after the incident with ditching classes and opening up to Frank, Gerard's got the flu. It started yesterday, got worse and worse throughout the day and night, which brings us to this scene -- Gerard wrapped up in two layers of blankets on the couch, three empty mugs (once containing tea) are on the coffee table, and a film that he isn't interested in is playing on the TV.

The last time he remembers feeling this ill was when he caught the sickness bug off one of the other children. He had thrown up twice a day for a week, and whilst he isn't feeling as ill right now, he still isn't happy that he's not feeling his best.

Samantha walks into the living room, taking pity on the scene in front of her, "Do you want some more tea?" She kneels down in front of Gerard. "Or maybe something to eat?"

Gerard shakes his head, coughing a couple of times before wiping his nose in the top blanket. "I don't want anything,"

"What about a nap?" Samantha suggests. "That should do you some good."

Gerard thanks about it for a couple of moments, before nodding. "TV off," he closes his eyes and moves his body, so his back is pressed into the couch.

Samantha turns the TV off, picks up the three mugs, and looks down at Gerard. "Call out if you need me," she whispers, waiting for Gerard to nod before going into the kitchen.

There's still the pile of dishes from breakfast that need washing and a load of clothes to be ironed, and Samantha busies herself with it all. As she starts the dishes, she looks outside and sees that once again, it's starting to rain. She shouldn't be surprised, they don't have the nicest weather around here, but would one day of nice weather be too much to ask? Her question is answered when a clap of thunder is heard, and she cringes. She's on the night shift tonight, and if there's a storm, then not many of the younger children are going to be sleeping.

Once she's finished with the dishes, she moves on and starts the ironing. Each child has a different coloured basket with their name on, ensuring that no clothes are mixed up. There's been one or two incidents where someone's ended up wearing someone else's clothes, but other than that, the system works well.

"I see Gerard's asleep," Mark says when he enters the kitchen, making Samantha's head whip up and look in his direction. "Is he feeling any better?"

"I don't think so," Samantha replies, focusing visually on the clothes she's ironing but holding a conversation with Mark. "I'll get him some food when he wakes up, see if he's up to eating anything."

"Good idea," Mark opens the fridge door and gets out the pot of pasta he brought with him. "By the way, Nathan and I have something to discuss with you."

"Oh?" Samantha asks, looking back up. She puts the iron up right so it can't burn anything and folds the t-shirt. "What is it?"

"Nathan's work is getting rid of some staff, as well as reducing everyone who isn't made redundant hour's shorter. Luckily, Nathan's not being made redundant. But his hours are being reduced, which means there's going to be less of an income, obviously," Mark explains. "So, we were wondering, would you like to rent out our spare room? It isn't going to be a ridiculous price, and all we ask is that you contribute to the bills - water, electric, food, so on, and pay rent. It'll help us, and you'll have somewhere to live."

Samantha speaks before she even thinks over the offer properly, "That would be perfect."

"Great," Mark smiles. "Tell me when you need to start moving and we can get things organised. You can store some of your things in our garage, and what you do with the rest is up to you, obviously."

Samantha walks around and hugs Mark, which in most work situations, would be seen as inappropriate. Then again, she doubts most people want to hug their boss. "Thank you," she says. "It won't be forever, I'll find another flat soon enough, I'm sure."

"No worries," Mark replies, hugging Samantha back. "You can stay as long as you need."

-

"This is exactly why we don't go out for lunch together."

Frank moves his eyes off the walls of the restaurant and looks at his mother. He hasn't a clue what she actually said, just hearing her mumble something. "Huh?

Linda rolls her eyes. "See? You weren't even listening then."

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Frank asks. He brings his glass to his lips, takes one more scan of the room, before returning his look to his mother.

"You're terrible company," Linda explains. "Every restaurant we go to, you have to look at everything. The way the tables are laid out, the server's uniforms, the wall decor, even the menus and carpet.

It's more like you're a spy on a mission, rather than being my son."

"I run a restaurant, I have to know what my competition is," Frank explains.

"This is in a completely different part of town!" Linda replies, voice not loud but slightly angered. "They aren't going to steal your customers!"

"You never know," Frank replies. "I have to make sure that I'm running my business well enough," he explains.

Linda, not wanting to get more annoyed at her son, takes interest in the menu. "Should I get the fish or the beef?"

"What fish is it?" Frank asks, not calling his mother out on how she changed the subject.

"Salmon. Salmon salad with a light dressing," she replies.

"Sounds all right," Frank nods. "Go for it."

When the server comes over, Linda orders their food. She does this on purpose - knowing that Frank will ask questions about how the restaurant is ran if he gets the chance to speak to one of the employees.

"So, when is it that Gerard's going to officially be adopted by you?" Linda picks up her glass of wine and takes a sip. "It seems to be taking an awfully long time."

"It hasn't been that long, just coming up to two weeks," Frank replies. "Mark said around three weeks, I think. But I'm aware that it can take longer, it's not a simple process."

"Well I know that," Linda says, seeming slightly defensive. "But I haven't even met Gerard, and it seems likely that he's going to be my grandchild."

"You can meet him when he's ready, not when you are," Frank says. "I told you, things need to be on his terms. Situations have to be created so that he's comfortable and not at risk of-"

"At risk of what?" Linda frowns. "It's not as if we would hurt him!"

"If you let me finish," Frank says, getting irritated by the way his mother thinks she knows everything there is to know. "I was going to say so that he isn't at risk of an anxiety attack or feeling out of place," he explains.

"Oh," is all Linda seems to say. "Well still, we wouldn't hurt him."

"I know. I wouldn't let you see him if I thought he was at risk of harm."

The starters are brought over and help to rid the air of the awkwardness that had started to creep in.

"When are you seeing him next?" Linda asks.

Frank finishes his mouthful of food before answering. "Later on. He's got the flu, so I won't stay long, just a quick hello."

"Make sure you don't catch it," Linda says wearily. "You don't want to be giving it to all your staff."

"I won't," Frank ensures her. "We're closed on the weekend, anyway. Dexter's got a doctor's appointment in the afternoon and I've got a meeting with the bank on Sunday." He continues when he sees the confusion on his mother's face, "Just to go over figures and such."

"Frank... Bank's aren't open on Sundays," Linda says.

Frank furrows his brow in confusion, before cussing, "Fuck. It's Monday, not Sunday..." He trails off. He stares at the table for a couple of seconds, before shrugging it off and making eye contact with his mother. "It'll be fine, a weekend off isn't too bad anyway. I'm sure they'll all appreciate it."

"And you could spend more time with Gerard," Linda points out.

"You're right," Frank says. "Good point."

-

The nap didn't do anything for Gerard, except make his head hurt even more. He shuffles out of the living room, wrapped in two fluffy blankets and one symbolic one of self pity. He reaches Mark's office and doesn't bother knocking, instead going straight in.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Mark says, not phased by Gerard's appearance. He let's him sit down before continuing, "Not feeling any better, I take it?"  
Gerard huffs instead of shaking his head or giving a verbal answer, and leans back in the chair with his eyes closed. His hair is damp from sweating, but when he attempted to take the blankets off earlier, he had felt as if he was stood outside in the harsh winter weather.

"Frank's stopping by later," Mark says. Like thought, that gets Gerard to open his eyes. "He won't be stopping for long, but it'll probably be after dinner."

"'Kay," Gerard says simply. He gets back up, knocking a jar of pencils up as he turns around.

"Why don't you eat something?" Mark suggests, ignoring the pencils and getting up. "There's pizza if you want some."

Gerard stops to think about it. "'Kay," he says once again. He opens the door, sneezes into one of the blankets, and starts shuffling down the hall again.

-

 _I'll be lucky not to get a cold_ , Frank thinks as he walks to the front door. It's pouring down with rain and a storm is brewing; dark clouds covering the sky and the occasional thunder clap can be heard every now and again. Just the short walk from the car to the front door has rid Frank of the comfort of his dry clothes, his top and trousers now clinging onto him.

"There's some hot chocolate and tea in the kitchen if you want some," Mark says upon opening the door. "And I've got a change of clothes if you need to change, we can wash and dry your clothes for you."

Whilst Frank was only planning on a quick half an hour visit, the thought of going home in wet clothes makes him cringe. "Both options sound great," he says, kicking his shoes off.

Mark's got a slimmer build than Frank, but whilst the top is a bit small, the joggers are stretchy, and sit comfortably on Frank's hips. With a cup of hot chocolate between his hands, Frank follows Samantha upstairs to where Gerard is.

"Gerard," Samantha knocks the door twice before stepping in. The room is dark except for the small night light next to Gerard's bed, curtains closed and even Gerard's lamp being turned off.

Samantha guesses he's avoiding anything to bright because of his head. "Frank's here to see you."

Gerard gives a small groan in reply, curled up in the middle of his bed with all his blankets and duvet over him.

"I'll leave you to it," Samantha says, looking at Frank. "He gets like this when he's ill, don't take it personally," she smiles, before exiting the room.

Frank shuts the door after her and makes his way over to the bed. It's a decent size bed, and there's enough room for Frank to sit down and Gerard remain in his position. "How're you feeling?" It's a dumb question, but Frank asks out of politeness.

"Icky," Gerard mumbles. He forces his eyes open to look at Frank before letting them fall back shut.

"I can imagine," Frank says. "Been sleeping for most of the day?"

Gerard nods, "Napping."

It goes quiet for a few moments, until Gerard starts coughing. He sits up as he does so, not bothering to put his hand over his mouth, the both of them occupied with holding the blankets and duvet to him.

"Do you want some water?" Frank asks, more worried about Gerard's throat than Frank's chance of getting ill.

"Got some," Gerard says when he finally stops coughing. His voice is hoarse, and he points to the small glass of water on his bedside table.

Frank reaches over to get it, putting the hot chocolate down. He puts the hand with the glass of water in out to Gerard, "Here you go."

Gerard stares at it for a few minutes before reluctantly moving his hand off of the blankets, and taking the glass. He takes a small sip, gives it back to Frank, before using both his hands to rub his eyes, but whining when the blankets drop around him.

"Stand up for a moment," Frank says, doing the action himself. "Let me help you."

Gerard pushes himself up from the bed and wipes his nose in the sleeve of his jumper. He watches as Frank moves both blankets and the duvet to the end of the bed, resting on the mattress. He then shakes both of Gerard's pillows, and turns them over on the other side. "Lay down."

Gerard, although a bit weary, lays down on his side, facing Frank, curious as to what he's doing.

"When I was younger," Frank gets the thinest blanket and lays it over Gerard. "This is how my dad used to put me to bed when I was ill." He softly tucks the blanket under Gerard's waist, laughing softly when Gerard giggles, probably ticklish. "It would help me stay warm, and was pretty comfortable. Plus, none of the sheets move too much." Frank also tucks the blanket under Gerard's legs and back. He repeats the process with the second, thicker blanket, and goes to lay the duvet over Gerard, when Gerard stops him.

"Wait," Gerard sniffles. "Can you pass my stuffies?" He points past Frank.

Frank turns his head, seeing the two stuffed animals that are from the trip to the zoo. He gets both of them and hands them to Gerard, watching him move his arm from under the blankets to hold both of the animals close. One Gerard (and both the stuffed animals) is covered with the duvet, Frank kneels down to face him. "Want me to leave you to sleep?"

Gerard shakes his head, a small yawn leaving him, "Want you to stay."

Frank sits back on the bed, and before he can say anything, Gerard beats him to it.

"Does your dad still do this for you when your ill?"

Frank purses his lips, feeling a pain inside of him. "Not anymore."

Gerard furrows both of his eyebrows, taking interest in the matter. "Why?"

"He left, a long time ago," Frank replies, picking at a lose thread on the sweatpants. 

"It's okay," Gerard says, moving his hand to pat Frank's. "Mine too."

Frank gives a small smile, "You get some sleep, okay? I'll be back in a couple of days, and if you're better, I'm sure we can go to the park."

"Can it be shopping instead?" Gerard asks, closing his eyes and moving his hand so he can hold his stuffies. "Wanna get new shoes."

"We'll do whatever you like," Frank promises. He wipes a couple of tears from his eyes and stands up. "But right now, you need to sleep."

Gerard takes Frank's advice, and closes his eyes. He's comfortable in bed, all warm and cozy, but he misses the way that Frank has to bite his lip to stop himself from crying.

-

That night, much to his displeasure, Frank dreams about two of the most important people in his life who left. His father, and Jamia.

In the dream with his father, Frank's a boy again. The age he was when his father left - eight. Frank can see himself; short brown hair, stood in his baseball uniform, complete with shoes as well as the helmet. It's then that he realises that he - or younger him, at least, is stood on a baseball pitch. Suddenly his father, wearing a long brown coat and black shoes, is stood just a couple of feed away.

"Dad!" Frank watches the younger version of himself scream.

His father slowly starts backing away, but keeps eye contact with Frank the whole time.

Frank starts screaming more, but it only makes his father move faster. So, naturally, Frank starts running. It slows his father's pace, but Frank still isn't able to catch up to him. No matter how much he moves his feet or reaches out, he can't get to his father. His father stops, and Frank does too. He doesn't know why - because he's screaming for himself to move, but it's as if he's not the one in control of his feet. A large hole opens beneath Frank's father, and within seconds, it swallows him.

Frank wakes up screaming, sat up in bed with sweat dripping down his forehead. He's breathing heavily, and closes his eyes, trying to calm himself down. It was just a dream, he thinks. But the emotions, they're all real.

After getting a drink of water from downstairs, Frank returns upstairs. It takes him a while to drop off, but when he does, he wishes he'd taken longer, for he dreams of Jamia.

It's just the two of them, and all their doing is making out, but it feels like real life. He can feel her skin against his own, her's soft and delicate, his own rough and worn out.

They're laying in bed, and when Frank briefly opens his eyes, he recognises the room as their bedroom from their old apartment.

Frank pulls away from Jamia, opting to push his face into her neck. She smells like the perfume he brought her the Christmas before she left, and when he kisses her again, she tastes like vanilla and strawberries. The two main flavours that their wedding cake was going to be.

Jamia pulls back and starts laughing at something, and Frank joins in. He takes in her features, and she's just as beautiful as she was when they were together. What they're laughing at, isn't known, but in that moment, whilst he watches Jamia laugh, Frank gets the feeling he felt after being with her for just a year - the feeling of being in love.

  
When Frank wakes up this time, he's angry, not upset. Not in the right frame of mind and still half asleep, but convinced what he dreamed was real and has been snatched from him again, he grabs something off his bedside table and throws it at the wall. It's the smash of glass that brings him back to reality.

"Fuck," he says, pushing his face into his hands, grabbing onto his hair, and letting out a sob.

When will ghosts stop coming back to haunt him?


	9. Once Bitten, Twice Shy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got round to giving names to chapters (or this one, at least). I hope you enjoy this chapter, thank you for all of the kudos, bookmarks, and comments! It really does help me to write and encourages me!

The last thing Amy wants to be doing on a Friday morning is gutting fish. It's not only disgusting, but it smells awful and makes her want to throw up. She regrets saying she knows how to gut fish to Frank when he was hiring, but she's honestly just grateful for having a job. However, that doesn't stop her from missing the comfort of her bed or the way her cat (Mittens) curls up to sleep next to her.

"How're the fish coming along?"

Looking up, sees Frank walking over to her."Not bad. I'm just glad it's a quiet day."

Frank hums. "If not many people come in half an hour then I think we'll close early," he says. "Being understaffed isn't ideal anyway, but there's not much point of just a few of us standing around whilst no one's here."

"Everyone seems to be getting ill lately," Amy replies. She turns her head to look at Frank, "Speaking of which, how's Gerard?"

"He's doing good, I think. I'm picking him up for the day tomorrow. He wants to go to the park but we don't exactly have the ideal weather, do we?"

"That's true," Amy replies, moving over to the cooker to fry the fish. "I have an idea if you'd like to hear it."

Genuinely curious and interested as to what Amy has to say, Frank moves around to stand with Amy. "And what's that?"

"You know how you were saying how Gerard feels like he's treated differently in comparison to everyone?"

"Yes..." Frank trails off, not knowing where this is going,

"Well, there's some food that needs to be used by Monday in the fridge, and seeing as you accidentally gave all of us the weekend off, why don't you bring him here and teach him a couple of cooking skills and whatnot?" Amy suggests. "He'd love it, I'm sure."

Frank thinks about it before nodding his head, "That's a great idea," he says. He wraps his arm around Amy in a quick side hug. "Thank you," he adds, before exiting the room.

Amy stands there for a few seconds taking in the fact that Frank just hugged her. Kind of. This crush is doing things to Amy and her feelings, and she doesn't know how to handle it.

-

"Don't want those ones. Hurt my toes."

"What about..." Mark trails off, looking through the box of shoes Gerard has. "These?" He holds up a pair of black sneakers.

"Nope," Gerard replies, shaking his head. "Want the boots."

"You know we had to throw those out," Mark says. He holds up a pair of green and blue shoes, "These? They're... An interesting design."

Gerard whines, folds his arms, and flops down into a laying position on his bed. "Not going," he huffs out.

"Yes you are," Mark stands up to look at Gerard, stood in front of him with his arms crossed. "Otherwise you'll whine all day, and get upset later on when it's too late to see Frank."

"No I won't," Gerard insists.

"We both know that's a lie." Mark moves to sit on the bed. "Besides, don't you think it's wise to spend time with Frank? He'll be adopting you soon." The words leave his mouth without him thinking about the impact they'll have on Gerard. He can feel Gerard's eyes on him, but can't get himself to meet the gaze.

"Frank's gonna adopt me?" His voice is too quiet for Mark to be able to tell what emotion he's feeling.

Mark turns around, seeing Gerard sat up, his eyes widened and mouth gaping open. Mark was going to sit Gerard down for this conversation, not only because that's what he does with everyone who's in the process of being adopted, but because sometimes Gerard gets overwhelmed by big events, especially one's that hold a large impact on his emotions. "Would you like him to?"

It's now Gerard who won't meet the gaze, and he looks down at his lap. "What if it happens again?"

Concerned by what Gerard's making a reference to, Mark asks,"What do you mean?"

"The last family just brought me back..." Gerard tugs at a loose thread in his jeans. "Don't wanna come back again."

Mark feels a pain twinge inside of him, pulling Gerard into a hug. "That won't happen this time. Would you feel better if you had a chat to Frank about it?"

The growing amount of emotion in Gerard's tone allows Mark to have a further insight into the whirlwind of emotions he's going through, "But what if he changes his mind and I never see him again?"

"That isn't going to happen," Mark says. "You can talk to him when he gets here, he won't be long."

Gerard sniffles, "'Kay."

-

"Frank, a quick word please?" Is what Mark first says to Frank when he arrives.

Frank's thrown off guard when Mark says this. Usually they exchange a casual hello before Frank goes to see how Gerard's doing. "Sure," Frank breathes out, coming across much more worried than he wanted to let on. He follows Mark to his office and can't seem to shake off the tensing in his arms or worry in his mind.

Mark doesn't tip toe around it. Once he's sat at his desk, he explains. "I accidentally mentioned to Gerard that you want to adopt him, and he freaked out. He's gotten it into his head that you're going to bring him back and he'll never see you again, and-"

Frank's eyebrow furrows and he doesn't give Mark the chance to finish, "Why would I bring him back?

"If I can finish," Mark says, slightly irritated. "He was fostered last time, and when he came back, he didn't react well. He's never been able to grasp the concept of how different fostering and adoption is, and when he was brought back, it was as if he was grieving his biological family all over again."

A wave of sorrow and sympathy hits Frank so hard, that if it was physical and not hypothetical, he'd been knocked off his chair. "I have no intentions of bringing him back," he tells Mark, looking him in the eye. "I'd never do that."

"I know that. You know that. But Gerard doesn't." Mark sits back in his chair, not looking relaxed, but more as if he's trying to relieve himself of stress. "He's upstairs, be careful with what you say."

Frank gives Mark the faintest of nods before leaving the office. He climbs the stairs slowly, taking in what Mark had told him, before he finds himself outside of Gerard's door. He knocks twice, and enters when he doesn't get an answer after a couple of seconds.

Gerard's laid on the bed with his back facing Frank. Frank wastes no time in walking over to see Gerard, seeing him curled up with the toy lion to his chest and tear tracks on his red cheeks. Frank takes the opportunity to see how Gerard's cut is healing, and frowns when he sees that whilst it's not so prominent, it's still visible. Frank speaks softly as he kneels down, "Hey, Mark told me you're not feeling all that happy." He rests his hand on the bed to balance himself. "Want to talk about it?"

Gerard balls a fist up to rub his eye. When he sits up, instead of turning away from Frank like Frank had expected, Gerard moves closer to Frank and lays down so his head is on Frank's hand. He shakes his head, "I don't wanna."

Frank just about manages to move his fingertips to lightly scratch the side of Gerard's head. Although he respects Gerard's choice, he knows that the issue needs to be addressed. It takes him a minute or so to think of a way to start the discussion, but Gerard beats him to it.

"Do you really want me as your son?" Gerard asks, looking at Frank with an expression that could make the meanest of people melt. "'Cause... No one else seems to want me."

The surge of pain Frank feels in him is almost enough to knock him out. "Of course I do," he says, giving Gerard the best smile he can manage.

Gerard lets go of the lion and holds his hand out to Frank, his little finger raised. "Promise?"

Frank wraps his little finger around Gerard's without hesitation, "Promise." Upon seeing the corner of Gerard's lips twitch up into a smile, Frank takes it as a good sign and stands up. "If you're up for it, I've got a little surprise for you."

Gerard looks up at Frank with wide eyes. "Is it a good surprise? Will I like it?"

"I'll let you be the judge of that."

-

"I don't understand," Gerard frowns as he walks behind Frank, stepping foot into the dinning area of the restaurant. "What're we doing?"

"Well." Frank turns around to look at Gerard. "This is my restaurant, and seeing as everyone has the day off, I thought we could do some cooking."

Gerard cocks his head to the side. "Will I like it?"

"There's only one way to find out."

-

The fact that Gerard gets to wear a chef's hat makes him very happy. He's even been given an apron and although Frank said that Gerard's lion isn't allowed to cook, he's allowed to watch them, and Gerard glad that he isn't left out.

"What're we making?" Gerard asks, tugging on Frank's shirt as the man is rummaging through the cupboards. He then gets an idea, "I wanna make noodles!"

Frank turns his head, looking at Gerard over his shoulder. "Plain noodles or a stir fry?"

"What's the difference?"

"A stir fry is noodles with vegetables, sauce, and sometimes meat. Plain noodles is just noodles."

"Stir fry," Gerard confirms with a nod of his head.

-

Frank shows Gerard how to cut and dice the peppers first of all. He stands behind him, helping him to position his hands on the vegetable with one hand and hold the knife with the other, doing his best to empower Gerard instead of doing things for him. Out of fear of Gerard hurting himself, Frank doesn't give Gerard the knives that Dexter uses. Instead, he gives him a knife that's blunter, but still gets the job done.

Whilst Gerard cuts the peppers and adds them to a bowl, Frank cuts the meat, but makes sure to keep an eye on Gerard. Once they've both done the first two jobs, Frank quickly chops an onion (Gerard's eyes were watering too much for him to actually see what he was doing), before putting the pan on the cooker hob and once it's turned on, he lets Gerard add in the other vegetables. After that, Frank adds in the meat in one pan (Gerard's), and watches as Gerard adds in the noodles to both pans (Frank's being meat free), and Frank shows Gerard how to stir it.

When it's finished - the sauce having been added in during the process, Frank shows Gerard how they present food. Gerard's presentation isn't as good as Frank's, but his expression is the happiest Frank's seen him all day.

"I've never cooked before," Gerard says as he sits down with Frank.

"Well now you can tell people that you have," Frank replies. "Ready to try it?"

Gerard looks down at his bowl, full of food, and gives a weary nod. He picks up his fork and uses it to pick up a piece of beef. He looks at Frank before looking at the food, and biting the meat off the fork. He chews it for a couple of seconds, then starting to actually taste it. "Mm," he smiles at Frank. "Yummy."

Glad that it didn't go wrong and Gerard's happy, Frank smiles. "Eat up, there's plenty left."

-

Gerard eats another two bowls of the stir fry before deeming himself full. He goes into Frank's office whilst Frank does the dishes, and Gerard can't help but snoop. Frank's office is full of papers (he's been told not to touch them) and other interesting looking things. There are drawers on Frank's desk, and Gerard doesn't hold back on looking through them. The top one is boring - full of old cheque books and pens that don't work. The second one is full of magnets and paperweights - they entertain Gerard for a whole of five minutes before they're left out on Frank's desk. The third drawer is full of photographs, and Gerard finds himself intrigued by them.

They all seem to have the same girl in them, stood or sat with a younger looking Frank. They're both smiling in all of them, or pulling funny faces. Gerard finds himself giggling at the way Frank's face looks, and he decides to go and show Frank them. He doesn't understand why such happy photo's are being kept in the bottom drawer. He figures that Frank must have forgotten about them, and that by Gerard showing them to him, Gerard will make him as happy as he is in the photos.

"Frank," Gerard says as he walks into the kitchen with a little spring in his step, Frank stood with his back towards him as he washes the dishes. "Who's this?"

Frank turns his head when Gerard's stood next to him, takes one look at the photo, and snatches it out of Gerard's hand without thinking. "Where did you get this?"

Gerard's taken back by Frank's response, not understanding what he did wrong. He just wants to make Frank smile. "I-I," he stutters. "In the bottom drawer-"

Frank's too blinded by sudden upset to realise he's overreacting. "I told you not to touch anything!" He says harshly. "Just go sit down and stay out of my way until I'm finished in here."

With a wobbling bottom lip and watering eyes, Gerard whimpers and rushes out the kitchen door.

-  
Frank doesn't realise how much he overreacted until he's been staring at the photo for five minutes. Guilt pours down on him and he mutters 'fuck' under his breath before rushing out of the kitchen. When he doesn't see Gerard straight away, he automatically jumps to the worst scenario. Gerard's run away. He rushes towards the door, but then he sees Gerard. He's pressed up against the wall with his legs up to his chest and head against his knees. Frank rushes over.

"Gerard I'm so sorry," Frank rushes out, putting his hands on Gerard's. "I didn't mean to shout."

Gerard sucks a breath in, before letting out a cry that he seems to have been holding in for a while due to the roughness and loudness of it.

Frank feels like the biggest asshole in the world. He moves closer and pulls Gerard into his arms, and feels a mixture of relief and heartache when Gerard hugs him tightly, but cries into his chest.

"I-I-I," Gerard says between his cries. "Was tryna make-make you happy." He gasps loudly before crying more, "D-didn't mean to make you upset."

Now Frank feels even worse."Shh shh shh," he says softly, rubbing Gerard's back. "It's okay, I overreacted. I'm sorry, Gerard. Please don't cry."

After another good ten minutes of Gerard crying and Frank holding him tight enough to help him stop shaking, Gerard manages to calm down. He sniffles before pulling back, looking up at Frank.

"You don't hate me?"

Frank wipes a tear off of Gerard's cheek, "Never could."

Gerard nods, "Good," he whispers to himself before rubbing his eyes. "Do you still wanna adopt me?"

"Of course, silly," Frank says with a smile, softly tapping Gerard's nose. "I'm not going to change my mind because of that, especially when it was my fault."

"Just wanted to see you happy," Gerard says once again, leaning back against the wall and looking at Frank with his bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks. "Didn't mean to upset you."

"I know," Frank says softly. "I'm sorry for how I acted, am I forgiven?"

Gerard nods his head, "Yeah."

-

Frank one hundred percent gets guilt tripped into getting Gerard a McFlurry from the drive-thru, but with how Frank behaved, he doesn't think he has the right to say no.  
"Frank?"

"Mm?"

"Do I get my own room?" Gerard asks before eating a spoonful of ice cream.

"Of course you do." Frank checks his mirrors. "Why wouldn't you?"

Gerard shrugs, "I used to share a room with Mikey."

"I see." Frank avoids asking any questions that're purely about Mikey. "Did you enjoy sharing a room?"

Gerard hums, "Was fun. We had bunk beds."

"That sounds cool. Did you sleep on the lower bunk, or the top?"

"Top, 'cause Mikey was too little to sleep on top."

Frank goes to reply, but out of the corner of his eye, he seems Gerard drop ice cream on the floor and gasp. "It's fine," Frank assures him. "I'll clean it up later."

Satisfied with that, Gerard presses the on button for the radio, and starts nodding his head along to the song whilst eating.

Frank recognises the song as Iggy Pop. "You like this?"

"Sounds... Different," Gerard replies. "I like it."

"Me too," Frank says, switching the windscreen wipers on as it starts raining.

-

By the time they get back, it's pouring down heavily. Frank covers Gerard in his coats and rushes him inside when Mark opens the door.

"Did you have a good time?" Mark asks, helping Gerard take off Frank's coat before handing it back to Frank.

Gerard nods his head, truly having enjoyed himself despite the small incident. "I wanna colour now."

"I'll see you next week," Frank says to Gerard. "Make sure to colour inside the lines, okay?" He teases.

Gerard giggles and hugs Frank. "I always do!" He says before going off to get on with his colouring.

Frank goes to turn to the door, but Mark grabs a hold of his arm, getting his attention. "Before you go, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"I had a phone call earlier," Mark explains. He tries hiding his smile, but he can't. "The paperwork's officially gone through, you can legally adopt Gerard by this upcoming Tuesday."

A spot of warmth starts in Frank's stomach and spreads throughout him. He smiles widely, "Really?"

Mark grins, "Really."

Frank pulls Mark into a hug.

-  
Frank's brought out of his sleep by his phone ringing and buzzing on his side table. He groans loudly before accepting the phone call without even looking at who it is. His voice is rough, "Hello?"

"Hey Frank, I'm sorry to be calling you at this time." It's Mark. "We have a bit of a... Situation here."

Frank sits up in bed, suddenly wide awake. "What's happened? Is Gerard okay? Do I need to come down?"

"Calm down," Mark says before yawning. "Gerard only just realised after waking up from a nightmare, that he doesn't have his lion. He says he left it at the restaurant. If I put him on the phone, could you explain to him why you can't go to get it at this time of the morning?"

Frank checks his watch. It's three am. "And you said he left his lion behind, right?"

"Yes."

With a yawn, Frank swings his legs out of bed. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Frank that's not-"

"See you soon."

-

The rain hasn't stopped from yesterday, in fact, it's gotten worse. Frank's just about dry when he gets back in the car, putting the toy in the other seat as if it's a real person. He turns the heating on, rubs his hands together, and does his seat belt. He makes sure to drive carefully, keeping an eye on the road.

He has to take a different route to the orphanage, seeing as there's been some type of road accident, so he takes a little longer than usual.

"Sorry I took so long." Frank's dripping wet as he steps inside, but seeing as he put the toy under his jacket, that at least is dry. "There was some sort of road accident."

"Are you okay?" Mark asks, stood in his pyjamas.

"I'm fine, just cold," Frank confirms before yawning, more concerned about Gerard than standing around, talking about his well being. "I'll take a shower when I get home. Where's Gerard?"

"Living room with Sam," Mark informs him. "I can't believe that you've done this."

Frank chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. He stretches his arms out, "I aim to be the best dad ever."

"Well this has brought you up a level for sure."

As soon as Frank steps foot in the living room, Gerard's up from the couch, and hugging Frank. "Watch yourself," Frank says softly, moving away from Gerard but placing his hand on his shoulder. "I'm soaking, and we don't want you getting ill again."

"Sorry," Gerard apologises, looking up at Frank with eyelids that're barely able to keep themselves open.

"No worries." Frank hands Gerard his lion. "Think you can sleep now?"

Gerard nods his head, taking Frank by his hand. "You gotta tuck me in, though." He's already walking away with Frank before Frank has a chance to respond.

-

Frank tucks Gerard in the same way that he did when he Gerard was had a heavy cold/flu the other day. He makes sure he has his lion tucked in with him, and can't bring himself to say no when

Gerard asks him to tell him a story.

"A made up one," Gerard yawns. "A nice one."

"All right," Frank says, trying to think of one that he tells his second cousins when he's babysitting them. He decides on one he thinks Gerard will be fond of. "Once upon a time, there was a lion..."

-

Gerard falls asleep after just a couple of minutes of the story. _It's nice to see him look so peaceful_ , Frank thinks before he goes downstairs.

"Get home safely," Mark says to Frank as they go to the door. "And really, thank you for doing this."

"It's no problem," Frank replies. And really, it isn't. Getting up in the middle of the night to comfort and help Gerard will likely be a regular thing when Frank adopts him. Frank might as well adapt to the situation now.


	10. The Ending of An Era (and The Beginning of Another)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the lack of updates on not only this fic, but my other fic. I think I rewrote this chapter out three times? But I'm finally happy with this draft. As for my other fic, I'm going to try and update it soon! Thank you for waiting and as always, thank you so much for your support, kudos, comments, and bookmarks! It means so much to me.

Tuesday comes around quickly and Mark lets Gerard have the day off. Not only because he thinks Gerard needs it, but more so that Mark needs it. Gerard's been in Mark's life since the day that Mark started this job. So whilst he's more than glad Gerard's going to a good, loving home, Mark can't help but feel like this is a bittersweet situation for himself.

It's kind of depressing how all of Gerard's clothes fit into just one suitcase, but Mark has no doubt that Gerard will have a closet full after just one month of living with Frank. Mark had made the mistake of thinking that keeping Gerard off for the day would mean Gerard would help him pack, but all Gerard's done is look outside his window. "I told you," Mark says as he folds a top. "Frank won't be here until much later."

"Just in case," Gerard replies, which has been his argument since Mark first questioned him. "Don't wanna miss him."

Mark continues to fold the clothes into the suitcase, then proceeding to add in the few pairs of shoes Gerard said he wanted to keep. With that done, Mark zips up the suitcase and sits down. The room is depressingly bare - empty bed stand tables, no stuffies around, no clothes left on the floor. It's as if Gerard's personality was painted into the room, and now it's being ripped from the skirting boards.

Eventually, Gerard gets bored of looking out the window. He moves over to sit next to Mark."Will I still see you when I move in with Frank?" He turns to look at Mark. "Or am I not allowed?"

Mark looks at Gerard with a tight smile. "You can come and see me whenever you want," He says, his voice thick but managing to hold back his emotions.

"Will Frank mind?"

"I'm sure he won't."

Gerard's satisfied with the answer and goes back to sitting in silence, but moves closer to Mark so he can hug him. When Gerard was younger, he'd make Mark stay in his room until he was asleep. He'd claim that he was scared of the monsters under his bed, but Mark knew that it was more of a case of being scared in a new place. It happened for months on end, until one day. For the first time since being moved into the home, Gerard went out to get the groceries. His nerves were finally settled enough and his anxiety wasn't as high, thus allowing him to go out. They'd gone to a store to pick up a few things, and when Gerard wouldn't let go of a stuffie, Mark didn't think he had the right to make him put it back. Gerard slept with it every night, no longer needing Mark's company. The stuffie's no longer around, Gerard having given it to a little girl who had nightmares. She got adopted within just three months of being in the system, and was the only friend Gerard had made. She'd offered him the stuffie back, but Gerard insisted on her keeping it.

Mark wraps his arms around Gerard. "Want to go get some food?"

Gerard nods his head and pushes himself up, out of Mark's arms. He takes Mark's hand and pulls him up. "Hungry," he mutters.

-

"You know." Frank takes a deep breath and keeps up a steady pace. He looks at Ray, "I hate the gym."

Ray laughs, turning his head and looking at Frank, the two of them on a treadmill. "No, you hate trying to lose all your weight."

"Fuck you." Frank smirks. "Nothing wrong with my weight."

"Is that why you can't keep up with me?" Ray asks. He presses the button to up the speed of his treadmill. He turns to Frank with an expression that can only be ready as 'do you except this challenge?'

Frank huffs. He's useless at all types of exercise, but won't say no to a challenge. He ups his speed as well, and finds that he's actually going faster than Ray. He keeps it up for a good couple of minutes - arms and legs moving in sync. The cockiness outweighs how horrible the sweat on his neck -that makes his hair cling to it- feels. He smirks at Ray, who's eyes have narrowed. It doesn't last very long though, because Frank misses a step and just like you see on the internet - he falls off his treadmill, slamming onto the floor behind him.

The gym is momentarily silent. No one says anything or even moves. That is until Frank groans, and suddenly everyone is laughing at him. He's lifted up by Ray, who wastes no time in telling him

what an idiot he is. "Come on," he puts one of his arms around Frank's waist, moving Frank's arm around his neck. "I think that's enough exercise for now."

Frank doesn't speak another word until they're in his car. His legs are aching and his elbow's sore, but he doesn't say anything about his pain. "Ray, what is your sister's name?"

"Isabella," Ray replies, opening his bag. "Why?"

"I just realised I had no idea." Frank shrugs. "Also, I spoke to Mark and we agreed a small party for Gerard's birthday wouldn't be too much for him. I was going to ask if you, her and Eliza wanted to come."

"Sounds nice." Ray nods. "I'll ask them for you."

"Let me," Frank insists. "It'll sound better if I do. If you do it then it might seem like I thought of them at last minute, and that's never a nice thing."

"Good point. I gotta get back to work, mind dropping me off?"

"Not at all."

-

It's an hour before Gerard's due to leave with Frank, and Samantha hates the atmosphere that's been created. Mandy and Gerard had argued, leaving Gerard upset and forcing isolation on himself. The younger children haven't stopped making noise since arriving home, giving Samantha a headache. A vase has been smashed and Joey accidentally jammed his finger in a drawer, which didn't go down well. To make it worse, Samantha's been left all on her own - Mark currently stuck in traffic. Finally having a spare minute after all the chaos, Samantha sits by Gerard on the window sill - looking out to the entrance of the home. "Excited?" She asks, trying to work out Gerard's facial expression.

Gerard's eyes stay focused outside and all emotion has been swept off his face. He answers in a monotone voice, "Yes."

With there obviously being something bothering Gerard, Samantha doesn't leave it there. "Wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Gerard's shoulders shrug. "Nothing's wrong."

"So what's up with this mood? It isn't like you to be grumpy when you're excited about something."

Gerard moves away from Samantha and stands up to exit the room, but Samantha holds his arm. "Let go," he whines, trying to move away. "You're hurting me!"

"You're causing the pain by moving," Samantha explains, standing up with Gerard. She lets go of him but points to the couch. "Let's talk about this, okay?"

Gerard crosses his arms. "Just in a mood." He looks down at the carpet. "Mandy's mean, and it upsets me."

"I know. She shouldn't be so nasty to you, I agree." Samantha gently moves Gerard's arms away from him to hold his hand. "But do you know what's not nasty?"  
Gerard shows no real interest. "What?"

"The secret stash of cookies in Mark's office." Samantha isn't surprised by Gerard's grin. "Let's go."

The cookies are in the same place they always are - last drawer on the right side. He never changes the spot, no matter how many times Samantha finds them on her breaks. She opens the box and lets Gerard sit in Mark's large chair.

"I like the white chocolate chip ones better," Gerard says, but doesn't stop eating the plain oatmeal ones. He swings on the chair slightly, going side to side.

"Don't swing and eat," Samantha says in warning. "You'll be sick."

Gerard slowly stops spinning, looking around the room and nibbling on the cookie. He stands up and reaches up to take a book off Mark's shelf. "Ch-Charl," Gerard stutters out, eyes narrowing as he tries to read the words. "Charl-lie." He gives up and throws it to Samantha, who just about catches it with one hand. "What's it say?"

Samantha quickly glances at the cover. "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory," she replies.

Gerard sits back down and takes another cookie. "What's it about?"

"It's about a little boy from a poor family, who goes to a wonderful chocolate factory with his grandfather and some other children and their parents," Samantha explains. "It's full of adventurous happenings and amazing characters."

"Oh," Gerard says, cocking his head to the side. "Is it good?"

"Better than good." Samantha hands it to Gerard. "Do you want to borrow it?"

Gerard holds the book in his hands, looking at the cover. His fingertips trail over the images. He doesn't look up when he speaks, "Am I allowed?"

"As long as you return it." Samantha sits back in her chair. "Mark won't mind."

Gerard realises a flaw in the plan. He looks up, "I... I can't read very well," he says sadly. He pushes the book towards Samantha.

"It's okay." Samantha puts her hand over Gerard's and gives him a smile. "Frank can read to you, and you can improve your reading skills. Sound good?"

Gerard thinks about it, before his lips break into a smile. He nods his head enthusiastically, "Okay!" He looks up at Samantha, "Will you read some to me now?"

Samantha takes Gerard into the lounge with the book tucked under her arm. She makes sure the younger children are okay (most of them ask for a drink, so she does that) before sitting down with Gerard curled up under her arm, listening to her soft voice as she reads.

An hour passes with a bat of the eyelid, and Gerard rushes to the door. Although he's been told not to more than once, he swings the door open without an adult there, and immediately wraps his arms around Frank. "Hi!" He says excitedly and pulls back, looking up at Frank. "I'm ready to go!"

Frank finds the enthusiasm adorable, not to mention positive. He gives Gerard a smile and steps in when Gerard moves back.

"Gerard why don't you go in the lounge for a second?" Samantha asks, coming into the hall. "I just need a word with Frank."

For once, Gerard doesn't protest. He does as he's told, happily going into the lounge and reuniting himself with the book.

"Mark isn't going to be back for a good three hours," Samantha tells Frank, leaning against the wall. "He's stuck in traffic, so he can't be here to say bye to Gerard..."

Frank catches onto where this is going and sighs. "I can bring him by after school tomorrow," he offers as a solution. "And I'll make it clear that Gerard's always allowed to come and see him. And you, of course."

A little smile appears on Samantha's face. She goes to speak but is distracted by her phone ringing in her pocket. "Talking of Mark." She accepts the call and puts the phone to his ear. "Hello? .... Yeah... Right, okay... Yeah that sounds good... Okay, yeah, I will." The phone call ends and she pulls out her earphones. She looks at Frank, "Mark's going to FaceTime Gerard to say bye. I think it's best if we give them some privacy though, yeah?"

"Of course," Frank agrees. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Samantha goes to the lounge and passes Gerard her phone. "Mark wants to speak to you," she helps him put the earbuds in. "When the green and red buttons come up, press the green."

Gerard nods his head, "Got it." He watches Samantha walk out of the room, and he goes back to looking at the cover of the book. The phone rings in his ears after a minute or so, and it makes

Gerard jump. He holds the phone up and accepts the call. He smiles when he sees Mark's face. "Hi Mark."

Mark's tone doesn't match Gerard's cheery one. "Hey, I heard Frank's there to pick you up. Are you excited?"

Gerard nods, but easily gets distracted and holds up the book in front of the front camera. "Samantha said I could borrow this!"

Mark smiles. "That's awesome," he says, waiting for Gerard to lower the book until he talks again. "Look, I need to tell you something. I won't be back in time to say goodbye before you leave..."

Gerard's mood drops completely. "Oh," he mutters. "But..."

"So I thought we could say bye on FaceTime, and then I'll see you in person soon, yeah?" Mark suggests, trying to help Gerard in the sense of not crying.

Gerard sniffles. "Okay."

"You're going to have a great time living with Frank, I promise," Mark starts off with. "And he's going to be the best dad to you that he's possibly able to."

Gerard nods, rubbing his eyes. "Miss you though."

"I'll miss you too," Mark says, doing nothing to stop his own tears. "But I'm always here, got it? I'm never going to forget about you."

"Okay," Gerard whimpers. He wipes his eyes again. "Do you promise I can visit?"

Mark simply nods. All the emotion is getting too much for him, and he doesn't want to drag this out. It isn't fair on Gerard. "I've got to go, but I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Bye Mark," Gerard whimpers once more.

"Bye Gerard, be good for Frank."

As soon as Mark ends the FaceTime call ends, Gerard drops the phone and runs to Samantha for comfort.

-

Frank doesn't push for conversation on the way back to his. Gerard's still upset, and Frank understands perfectly. He lets Gerard choose the radio station and Frank answers the odd bit of conversation Gerard gives here and there, but there's not much of it. They get back to the house and Frank carries Gerard's bags in for him. He watches as Gerard looks around the hall and slips his shoes off, then following Frank into the living room. He sits down on the couch and tries his best to smile at Frank.

"Would you like some dinner?" Frank asks, putting the bags down before sitting down next to him.

Gerard shakes his head. "I wanna nap."

Frank takes Gerard upstairs to the room which is now his. There's not much in there, seeing as it was previously just a spare bedroom.

"What're these?" Gerard asks, picking up a packet of pyjamas and looking at Frank. "Are they mine?"

"Yeah, new pyjamas. My mom used to get me a new pair whenever we moved house or whenever I was sick. I thought it would be a nice present for you."

Gerard puts the pyjamas down and hugs Frank. "Thank you," he says quietly, before starting to cry for a number of reasons.

Although it's a bittersweet situation, everything is coming together. Frank hugs Gerard, rubbing his back soothingly. "It's all right," he says softly. "It's all going to be okay."


	11. Starting Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit longer than the others (I think), but I wanted to get everything in one chapter. Thank you for all the wonderful feedback and kudos, it means so much to me! And thank you for waiting for updates!

In the space of two days, Frank learns two things about Gerard. Firstly he learns that Gerard adapts surprisingly well to change (that or he's not voicing his concerns). The second thing is that he's much more emotional than Frank realised. On the morning of his birthday, Thursday, he cries out of gratitude for Frank buying him presents and telling him there's a small party for him in the night. Frank wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel touched, or heart-broken. Nevertheless, he told Gerard that he was welcome, and sat with him whilst he opened his present. Frank bought him an art set and gave him fifty dollars, along with the promise of going shopping together on the weekend.

"Do I have to go to school?" Gerard whines, standing at the front door and letting Frank button his coat up. "I don't wanna go on my birthday."

"It'll be over before you know it." Frank does the the top button up. "Besides, you'll be bored with me all day. I've got some errands to run."

Gerard shakes his head. "I'd have fun!"

Frank starts to consider it, but shakes his head. He has to put his foot down with Gerard in order to set a good example. "No, come on, school time."

Gerard walks out the front door with a groan, dragging his bag across the ground, head tipped back.

-

"Do you think he's ready to meet us all?" Linda asks, driving herself and Frank to the store. "I don't want him to be scared or overwhelmed."

Frank shakes his head, concentrating on her phone. "It should be fine. Mark's coming too, so his presence will help keep Gerard calm."

"Well I hope he doesn't stay with him all night," Linda huffs. "This is meant to be a chance for me to get to know my grandson."

"No, this is the chance for Gerard to meet his family," Frank corrects. "Whether he takes the opportunity and talks to you all, or if he chooses to stay with one person all night, him being comfortable comes first."

Linda looks at Frank briefly and laughs to herself. "Oh Frank."

Frank raises one of his eyebrows, turning in his seat to look at his mother. "What? That wasn't meant to be funny."

Linda shakes her head. "You just remind me a lot of how your father was with you, that's all."

Frank scoffs. "Never compare me to him," he says, a negative mood falling over him. "I'm nothing like him."

"You're more alike than you know."

"I don't recall abandoning any of my family," Frank snaps, his anger getting the better of him. "Leaving my son when he was a kid and had problems with his stomach... Oh wait, that's because I didn't."

"I didn't mean it like-"

"You shouldn't have even brought him up." Frank looks out the window. "He ruined what family we had and I never want to see him again."  
Linda goes to put her hand over Frank's, but when he moves it away, she knows how badly she's messed up in this moment. She keeps on driving.

-

Gerard really hates school. He really hates work and homework, too. But what Gerard really, really hates, is his music teacher. She's an old woman with the worst voice Gerard's ever heard, and all she does other than sing old songs, is make the class watch music videos from her generation that Gerard can't even see because he sits behind a guy that's too tall and blocks the view. So when Gerard walks into the room, lagging behind everyone else and just about manages to see a tall man with a mohawk and sporting a leather jacket, he's more than confused.

"Good morning young people with terrible fashion sense," the man, who Gerard thinks might be the new teacher, says. "Partner up, I have a project for you all."

Gerard watches as everyone pairs up, and as always, no one even bothers to ask him to be his partner. It makes him feel isolated that no one even spares him a look, but he's learnt how to keep his tears back when he's in school. The last time he cried he got bullied for a week.

With everyone in pairs, they move to stand by a desk. Gerard stays in the centre of the room with his head down. He hates this and he hates this stupid class, and he thinks he might already hate this teacher even more than the last one.

"Hey kid, where's your partner?"

Gerard looks up to see the teacher's moved forward and looking at him. He's more intimidating up close and almost towers over Gerard. Gerard just shrugs.

The teacher looks up and sees a group of three, whereas everyone else is in a partner. He bites his lip and shakes his head, before turning his attention back to Gerard. "That's all right, you can work with me. We'll have an advantage," he throws a look over to the group of three boys before looking back at Gerard, "I'm great at singing."

The lesson happens to be over quickly, but Gerard actually enjoys himself for once. Mr Urine (Gerard's still not sure if that's his real name) has a great sense of humour and while everyone else was talking, he made the effort to talk to Gerard and get to know him a little. Gerard didn't speak too much, but when he did, Mr Urine actually listened and asked questions, which boosted Gerard's confidence greatly.

"So I take it none of your friends are in this class?" Mr Urine asks. Everyone else has left but Gerard's picking up his bag.

Gerard's cheeks go red. "Don't have any," he says quietly, looking at his fingers and playing them. The happy feeling inside of him starts to fade, replaced with the usual sadness.

"None at all?"

Gerard shakes his head, and looks up when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He stiffens slightly and looks up.

Jimmy's looking at Gerard with a sympathetic smile. "When's your lunch break?"

"Twelve to one."

"Perfect. Come to this room then and see me. If I'm not here then just wait, I have another project for you. Do you like music?"

"Uh... Yes?"

"Okay great, I have some ideas for you."

-

"Do you teach Gerard Way?"

Brendon turns around in the staff room and shakes his head. "He doesn't do gym, his ankle's weak and the doctor's aren't happy to let him take the risk. Why?"

"I had him first period, I couldn't get him to speak much but he seems like a nice kid."

"He doesn't talk to many of the teachers. He's got additional needs, most of the fuckheads of teachers in this place don't take it seriously. The only time I've spoken to him is when I had to take over a detention and we made some small chit chat, but nothing really."

Jimmy nods his head. "What kind of additional needs does he have?"

"I think he's got a lower mental age. I'm not too sure, but I think he has the mental capacity and abilities of a young child. That and he's got a bad ankle."

"And he doesn't have any help? Not a teaching assistant to help him in class or something?"

"Like the school can afford it," Brendon laughs. "Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Well usually I don't care, but everyone seems to avoid him like they can't stand to be around him. I had a shitty high school experience, I don't want him to go through the same."

"Well fuck me over, Jimmy Urine actually gives a crap for once." Brendon smirks.

Jimmy punches Brendon in the arm. "Watch it, Urie. But seriously, Gerard seems like a good kid. If me showing a bit of my... Nicer side is what I have to do to let him know high school isn't completely shit, then that's what I'll do."

-

Gerard almost doesn't show up to the music room at lunchtime. He was going to go to the toilet and spend the lunch hour in there like he sometimes does, but when the upstairs toilets were locked, he decides that going to the music room was better than sitting in the downstairs toilet that smell disusting. He walks into the room and feels a bit better when the teacher is actually there, and wasn't lying and setting Gerard up for a joke. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

"Have you ever heard of Placebo or Nirvana, Gerard?" Mr Urine asks.

"No." Gerard stands in front of the teacher's desk, not sure what to do with himself. "What are they?"

"They're bands," Jimmy explains, nodding his head in the direction of a chair and waiting for Gerard to sit down before continuing to speak. "I think you'll enjoy them. What music do you usually listen to?"

Gerard shrugs. "Stuff on the radio?"

"Any artists you enjoy?"

"Not really."

"All right, well tell me what you think about these two bands, and if you like them then we'll check some more out next time, if not, we'll look into other genres and shit."

"Okay."

An hour passes and Gerard finds himself enjoying the two bands much more than the stuff on the radio. He can't remember the name of the lead singer of Nirvana, but he knows the lead singer of Placebo is called Brian Molko, and Gerard wants to see if he can spend some of his birthday money getting a hair cut like his. When lunch time is over, Gerard whines about how he doesn't want to go to math.

"Math isn't too bad," Jimmy insists. "And if you want then we can look at some new bands tomorrow lunch time, and remember to bring some food with you this time. I don't like sharing my ham sandwiches," he jokes.

Gerard smiles. "Frank doesn't eat meat. Makes his belly bad."

"Frank? Who's that?"

"He adopted me," Gerard explains. "He said he wants me to eat meat though, 'cause I need the vitamins."

"He right, you're still growing," Jimmy replies. "So, Frank's your dad, then?"

Gerard shakes his head. "My dad died. And my mum, and my little brother..."

Jimmy catches on to the sadness in Gerard's voice and digs through his bag. He finds what he's looking for and hands it to Gerard. "This memory stick is full of concert videos from various bands.

Have a look at it tonight and we'll talk about them tomorrow," he says, trying to distract Gerard.

"I got a party tonight." Gerard rubs his eyes. "Thanks though."

"Take it for the weekend, then," Jimmy insists, glad when Gerard takes it. "Let me know your favourite."

-

Gerard falls asleep on the couch after school, and Frank takes the time to get things ready for the party later on. He gets both their outfits ready and rings a couple of people to confirm they're going to attend, before checking on Gerard once again. He's still laying down with his head on a cushion and his arms wrapped around another one. Frank retrieves the lion stuffie from the kitchen table - Gerard having left him there at breakfast - and replaces the cushion with it.

The party's being held at a venue down town. Frank and his mother have gone half and half on the price. There was always the option of hosting it at the restaurant, but Frank's mother insisted that he'd get distracted with running his business and not spend time with Gerard and enjoying being off from work. After thinking about it, Frank had seen her point, and that's when they had booked the room in a hotel for tonight. There's around twenty people attending, twenty three including Frank, Gerard, and Linda. There are more people that Frank could have invited, but he didn't want to overwhelm Gerard with a lot of strangers.

After laying a blanket over Gerard and checking the time, Frank goes upstairs. He pulls a box from underneath his bed out and opens the top. Inside are things that Frank's tried to throw out and run from throughout his life, but hasn't ever been able to. He pushes an old teddy bear and a baseball hat aside, which gives him space to pull out a large brown photo album. He sits at his desk and opens it. It's full of pictures of Frank and his father before he left. Because no matter how much Frank's tried, he hasn't been able to ever throw them out.

What hurts the most about his father's departure from the family, is that he left at such a hard time for Frank. It's the time where his body started rejecting certain food, and he was in and out of hospital more than he was in school. When his father left without saying goodbye, it only worsened Frank's health. He refused to eat even the food that his body would accept, and his mother worried that he was going to develop an eating disorder. However, after a week, Frank started to eat again, and a year later he was diagnosed with an intolerance to meat.

The first page of the photo album is full of pictures from when Frank is extremely young. Before the days he could walk and independence was barely on the horizon. It's hard to feel just one emotion when looking at the photos. He knows he should feel a sense of happiness, but anger and bitterness took that space a long time ago. He goes to take one of the photos out when there's a timid knock at his bedroom door. Frank turns around to see Gerard stood at the door with the blanket and stuffie tucked under his arm. "Hey," Frank forces a smile. "How was your nap? You seemed exhausted after school, I didn't want to wake you."

Gerard yawns and walks over to Frank. He sits down on his lap and hugs him tightly, and Frank slowly wraps his arms around him, closing the photo album in the process. "Was a tiring day."

Frank rubs his back in circles. "You can nap for a little bit longer if you want, we don't have to get ready for another," he checks his watch, "hour."

"Okay. Will you read me a story?"

Frank carefully moves Gerard off his lap and holds his hand. "Of course I will, do you want to continue with Charlie and The Chocolate Factory?" He takes Gerard quick steps out of the room as a yes.

There's still a lack of Gerard's personal touch in his bedroom. He's got his stuffies and clothes, but that's about it. His school bag sits on the end of his bed and Frank's reminded that he really needs to start decorating soon. Gerard lays down on the bed and pulls Frank to sit down next to him, watching as he sits against the headboard. Frank uses one hand to hold the book, and Gerard takes the other one firmly locked in his grip.

It only takes a couple of pages before once against, Gerard's out like a light. Frank places the book under Gerard's pillow before looking at him. It's strange and kind of alien to Frank how paternal and protective he's grown over Gerard in such a short period of time, but it's a good feeling nevertheless.

The book is placed under Gerard's pillow before Frank lays down next to Gerard. The thoughts of his own father are still zooming around his mind, but just as Frank gets up to try and go to throw the photo album out, Gerard moves in his sleep and wraps his arm around Frank's waist. Frank moves his arm to sit comfortably around Gerard and closes his eyes. They have plenty of time.

-

Frank's awoken from his slumber by a rapid knocking. He sits up in bed and looks around quickly for the source of the sound, but soon realises that it's coming from downstairs. He hears a noise next to him. When he turns, he meets Gerard's sleepy gaze.

"Who's knocking?"

"Don't know." Frank rubs his eyes with his balled fists and stumbles off the bed. "Best go find out." With that said, he walks downstairs and goes to the source of the sound - the front door. When he opens it, he's met with the annoyed face of his mother.

"I've been waiting here for ten minutes!" Linda exclaims, hands on her hips. "What were you doing? You're not even dressed properly!"

"Huh? Ready for what?"

"The party! It's happening in," she checks her watch, "half an hour!"

Frank's eyes widen and he checks his own watch. His mother's right, the party's in half an hour and neither he or Gerard are ready. "Fuck," he mumbles. "Come in and sit down, I'll be like, ten minutes."

Linda steps inside and Frank races up the stairs, so fast that he almost runs straight into Gerard, who's coming out of his bedroom.

"We need to get ready for your party," Frank says, trying to keep his voice calm in order not to raise Gerard's anxiety. "My mother's downstairs, she'll be driving us to the venue."

Gerard tenses momentarily and looks at the ground. "Do I have to talk to her?"

"Not if you're not comfortable with it," Frank assures him. "But do you think that you can manage a little hello? Or maybe just a wave?"

Slowly but surely, Gerard nods his head. "Okay... I'll try."

Frank smiles, "That's my boy."

Frank manages to get the both of them ready within fifteen minutes, and goes over how to tie shoelaces with Gerard when he doesn't understand how to do it.

"What if she don't like me?" Gerard frowns. He's stood in Frank's bedroom with his lion stuffie tucked under his arm, waiting for Frank to be done with his shoes. "I don't wanna embarrass you."

Frank looks up from his shoes and shakes his head. "She already likes you, trust me."

The words are comforting to Gerard, but not enough to stop him from hiding behind Frank as they walk into the lounge.

"Be gentle with him," Frank mouths to his mother, before actually speaking out loud. "Mom, this is Gerard."

Gerard slowly moves his head away from behind Frank's shoulder to see Linda. She's about the same height as Frank, with the same colour hair and build. "Hello," he says, so quiet that he almost misses it himself.

"Hello darling," Linda smiles. Frank had told her how shy and adorable Gerard is, but she hadn't expected this. "Are you exicted for your party?"

"Yeah." Is all Gerard manages before his shyness takes over and he's fully hiding behind Frank again.

Frank and Linda share a smile. "Ready to go?"

"I believe we are."

-

Although sitting in the back of the car makes Linda feel sick, she does it anyway. Gerard's obviously relaxed by Frank's presence, and Linda feared him getting too anxious without being sat next to him.

When they get to the venue she gets out and heads inside without them, letting Frank deal with any issues that might have risen with Gerard that she didn't notice.

Gerard's staring out of the window, looking at the venue. "What if none of your family like me?" He asks, holding the lion close to him. "I don't wanna be not liked!"

Frank puts his hand on Gerard's shoulder. "I promise you that they already like you. Just like my mom. It's all good, Gerard. And if you want to leave early then we can, but give it a go first. Do you think you can do that?"

Gerard takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He nods his head, "Yes."

Frank holds Gerard's hand as they make their way into the venue. He can practically feel the nerves from him, and so pulls him closer and rubs the pad of his thumb on the skin of his hand. They arrive at the room where the party's being held, but Frank stops to talk to Gerard before they go in. "Ready?"

"I think so."

The door opens easily, and Frank takes Gerard into the room. There's gold and black balloons and decorations all around the room, and two big tables of food at the back of the room. As well as this, everyone's talking and seeming to be getting along as music plays from the laptop that Frank's cousin set up. Frank turns his head to look at Gerard, smiling when he sees the look on his face.

"Like it?"

"Did you really do all this for me?"

"Indeed we did. You're part of the family, it's only right that we treat you like such."

Gerard wipes his nose in his sleeve and sniffles. "Thank you."

Amy spots the two and makes her way over to the two of them. Gerard is quickly behind Frank's back, again. It doesn't phase Amy though, Frank told everyone that Gerard doesn't have a lot of confidence around new people. "Your mother text everyone saying you were both going to be late," she says to Frank. "It's good to see she's still over-dramatic."

"You know what she's like," Frank replies. "Slightest thing and she's overreacting."

Amy hums and takes a sip of her drink. "Well, are you going to introduce me properly or shall I just stand here?"

Frank rolls his eyes and slowly pulls Gerard out from behind him, only to have him press back into him. "Just a little hello," Frank whispers to him, rubbing his shoulder. "You can do it."

Gerard shakes his head. "Don't wanna," he says. "Wanna go home."

Before Frank can do anything, Amy's taken things into her own hands. She kneels down in front of Gerard so she's looking up at him. "I like your stuffie," she says. "Does he have a name?"

It takes a brief moment for Gerard to answer. "His name is Frank," he says, slowly looking at Amy. "'Cause Frank bought him for me at the zoo."

"He's lovely. Do you like animals, Gerard?"

"Yeah, we used to have a cat but I dunno what happened to her."

"That's okay, though. Would you like to see my cat?"

Gerard nods his head, and when he's shown a picture of Mittens laying on his back, he awes. "I wanna cuddle him."

"He would love that," Amy tells him. "He always sleeps on my bed, and sometimes he meows to be held."

Gerard giggles. "That's silly! Meowing is like kitty crying."

"That's right! Would you like to know his name?"

"Yeah!"

"His name is Mittens," Amy says. "Because when he was a kitten, he chewed up my favourite pair of mittens."

"I'd name him Snowy, 'cause he's white like snow and snow is pretty and so is Mittens."

"Maybe I'll make Snowy his middle name, deal?"

"Deal."

Gerard's nerves seem to disappear after meeting Amy and a few of Frank's cousins. He isn't as confident and outgoing as he is when only around Frank, but there's an obvious difference and it makes Frank happy.

"Is Mark gonna be here?" Gerard asks when sat at a table with Frank. Two of Frank's family members who Gerard doesn't know the name of are sat with them, too. "I wanna see him. And Nathan! I haven't seen Nathan since I was little."

Frank furrows an eyebrow. "Who's Nathan?"

"Mark's husband!" Gerard exclaims. "Didn't you know he was married?"

"No, actually I thought he was single."

Gerard shakes his head, starting to swing his legs under the table. "Nope! They got married when I was eleven and we all went to the wedding and had cake! But I didn't like the cake, 'cause it wasn't chocolate and I only like chocolate cake. All the other ones are yucky."

Frank thanks the stars above that he got Gerard a chocolate birthday cake. "Well, I'm excited to meet Nathan. I'm sure he's a nice guy."

"He is! His family don't talk to him for some reason but I think that's silly, 'cause Nathan's a nice guy and it's not like he's naughty!"

Frank smiles, glad that Gerard is unaware of the real reason Nathan's family don't talk to him. "I think it's silly, too," he agrees. "Family's should stick together, right?"

"Right!"

"So, Gerard," Lucy, Frank's cousin says from across the table. "Have you had nice things for your birthday?"

Gerard scoots closer to Frank, but manages to maintain a little bit of eye contact with Lucy. "Yeah."

Lucy gets a small, wrapped box out of her bag and slides it over to Gerard. "Sorry it isn't much, but I think you'll like it."

Gerard slowly rips the wrapping paper, which reveals a white box. The lid comes off easily and he picks out a plastic card. He holds it up to Frank's eyes, "What's it say?"

Frank moves his head back to read it better. "It's a build-a-bear card. Do you know what that is?"

Gerard nods his head enthusiastically. "Thank you!" He says to Lucy. "I love it."

Lucy grins. "You're welcome, babe. Make sure to make the bear pretty."

"I will!"

-

Ray arrives just moments after Mark, and with him is his sister and her daughter, Eliza. "Where's Gerard?" Ray asks, putting a plastic bag down on the table.

"Over there with Mark." Frank nods his head in the direction of the two. "He's warming up to everyone, but the moment he saw Mark his face lit up."

"Oh, right. Anyway, this is my sister, Isabella, and my niece, Eliza."

Isabella and Eliza are stood next to Ray. Isabella has dark, long hair and a slim build. Eliza is a spitting image of her; their dark eyes the same and sporting the same hair colour, but Eliza's hair is pulled back into a ponytail.

"Great to meet you," Isabella smiles, shaking hands with Frank. "I've been meaning to ask if you'd like to meet up."

"It's great to meet you too," Frank says, before turning to Eliza, who's smiling at him. "And you, Eliza."

"Hi," Eliza says, her tone shining with confidence. "Is there cake?"

Isabella scolds Eliza for being rude, but Frank nods his head. "There is, but it hasn't been brought out yet. It'll be brought out when Gerard's eaten some more of the buffet food, I promise."

"Okay... Can I say hi to Gerard? Mom said he might be my friend!"

"I think he'd love a friend, but he's a little bit shy, okay?"

"That's okay! I was really shy until I went to drama class, and now mom says that I don't shut up!"

Isabella frowns, "Eliza, that's not what I said."

"I think she just means she's a lot more happier in herself," Ray says, trying to stop things from escalating. "Right, Eliza?"

Eliza nods her head. "Right!"

Frank takes Eliza over to the table where Gerard and Mark are sat. Gerard's drawing something on a piece of paper, and Mark's talking to him and drinking from one of the two plastic cups. "Gerard, I have someone here who wants to meet you."

Gerard looks up and shrinks back into his chair when he sees Eliza stood with Frank. It only takes a couple of seconds more before he's hiding behind Mark. He pressed his face into Mark's shoulder.

"Too shy," he mumbles.

"Come on Gerard, it's always fun meeting friends," Mark coaxes.

Slowly Gerard looks over Mark's shoulder. Frank and the girl are still stood there, and Gerard feels his confidence drop by the second. "Hi," he whispers. "I'm Gerard."

"I'm Eliza!" Eliza grins, sticking her hand out. "My mom and uncle brought me here, 'cause we wanted to say happy birthday and eat lots of cake!"

Gerard can't help but giggle quietly. "I hope there's no meat in the cake. Frank's not allowed to eat it, it makes his belly bad!"

Eliza looks at Frank with wide eyes. "Are you really?"

"Yep. Makes my belly bad, but there's no meat in the cake, so it's okay."

Eliza turns back to Gerard. "Do you wanna dance?"

Gerard feels the nerves come back to his belly. He looks at Frank, and then at Mark, before nodding his head at Eliza. "Okay." He stands up and doesn't pull back when Eliza takes his hand. In fact, he lets her guide him over to the dance floor where a couple of people are stood.

Mark shares a look with Gerard. One that says 'did that really just happen?'. "Looks like this adoption is doing him wonders all round." Mark watches as Frank sits down. "How's he been? Everything okay?"

"A lot of crying, a fair lot of affection, and constant tryings to get out of going to school, but it's good. I think he's warming up to me more."

"I think he warmed up to you a while ago," Mark says with a nod of his head. "But I'm glad. I miss him, it's weird not having him at the orphanage... But it's obvious he's happier with you, and he deserves the best."

Frank couldn't agree more. "I promise I'm taking care of him. I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"I know I know... That reminds me, I have something for you." Mark leans down and opens his bag, pulling out a large book with a leather cover. He looks at Frank, "This is a photo album of Gerard's biological family. The doctors gave him a few photos after the accident, but thought the book might be too overwhelming. But he's sixteen now, it's been a while since it happened, and I think it's time for him to have this."

"It must have been hard to keep it from him," Frank says. "I'll give it to him on the weekend, go through it with him and make sure he's all right."

"Good plan. I'll drop into your work tomorrow to give you some papers I forgot to give you. Just some legal things about Gerard's health insurance and him coming into the money his parents left for him."

"I won't be in until tweleve, so if you drop in before that tell someone to leave them on my desk. Amy should be working, she's just over there." Frank points to where Amy's stood, chatting to his mother.

"I'll drop them in with her, no worries. I've got a meeting at eleven so I'll probably drop it in for around ten."

The two make small take for a couple of minutes, before a question comes up that Frank's been curious about for a while.

"Has... Has Gerard ever been to his parents and brother's grave?"

Mark breathes in deeply. "No... Not really." He notices the weird look that Frank's giving him, and continues with his explanation. "We tried once when he was twelve, but it didn't go down to well. He broke down as soon as he saw the headstones. And he was too ill to go to the funeral so really... I don't know if he's ever really had any proper closure. I think he deals with it better and being adopted by you has certainly helped, don't get me wrong. It's just hard to know what he's thinking when he won't always open up about his thoughts."

Frank's shocked to say the least. He thought Mark was the one person who Gerard trusted with everything. "Right..." He trails off, running a hand through his hair. He takes a glance at Gerard and Eliza, watching them laughing and enjoying themselves. Gerard turns to wave at Frank and Frank returns the gesture before turning back to Mark. "Do you think I should try and take him? It might be easier now that he's older."

Mark thinks about it before answering. "See how he gets on with the photo album, and take it from there."

"Yeah... That sounds good," Frank says and sits back in his chair. "I'll let you know how it goes. Both events."

-

"What's it like in your school?" Gerard asks, sitting down in the middle of the dance floor with Eliza. "I don't like mine."

"I love school!" Eliza smiles. "The teachers are really nice and we go on fun trips and next week we get to pet bunnies, because the teacher for grade four is bringing her bunnies in! She said they're cuddly but you gotta be careful, just in case they bite your finger! And no one wants to be bitten!"

"That's so cool!" Gerard gasps. "I wanna pet bunnies... But my school is all meanies and yucky food."

Eliza gets an idea, "Move to my school! We would have so much fun, and maybe be in class together!"

"Yeah!" Gerard grins. "I'm gonna ask him right now!"

The two of them get up and Gerard pulls Eliza over to Frank and Mark. "I wanna move schools," he says, talking to Frank. "I wanna go to school with Eliza."

"Where do you go to school?" Frank asks Eliza.

"Uh... Saint George's High School! It's just outside of town."

"Private school," Mark comments to Frank. Then he mouths to him, "Fees are high."

Frank holds back a sigh. He faces Gerard with a small smile. "We'll talk about it tomorrow, okay? For now, just enjoy your night and have fun."

Gerard hugs Frank. "Okay!" He chirps, before running off again with Eliza.

"I know it's not the nicest thought right now, but the money Gerard was left would easily cover a couple of years of private schooling and still have plenty for him," Mark says.

"I should be the ones paying his school fees, not dipping into his parents funds."

Mark leans over, hands clasped together. "You are his parent, Frank. You have to do what you think is best for him and his future."

"I know," Frank sighs. "Trust me, I do." He checks his watch and gets up, "Do me a favour? I'm going to go and get Gerard's cake from the kitchen, have him sit here and tell everyone what's going on. I'll bring it back in and we can sing happy birthday to him."

"All right," Mark says as he stands up, going straight over to Gerard and Eliza. "I want to show you something," he says to Gerard, who's looking the happiest Mark's ever seen him. He puts his hand out, "Come on."

Gerard takes Eliza's hand so she comes along with him and Mark. He sits the two of them at the table and when everyone else gathers round but Frank isn't there, he worries. "Where's Frank?" He asks Mark with a frown, noticing the music is being turned down. "I don't understand what's going on!"

"It's okay, he's coming," Mark promises. "Just wait, it's all good. He'll be back shortly."

The next thing Gerard knows is that the lights are dimmed. He clings onto Mark's arm, scared of what's happening. However, Frank enters the room just after the dimming of the lights. He's carrying a birthday cake that's lit with candles, and Gerard can just about see Frank's mother walking behind him, carrying a camera in her hands.Everyone suddenly starts singing Happy Birthday to Gerard, and whilst it makes him jump, he can't stop the grin that's spread across his face.

By the time that Frank's gotten to the table, along with the cake and his mother, everyone's stopped singing and encouraging Gerard to blow the candles out and make a wish. "Go on, make a wish," Frank smiles. "Anything you want."

Gerard thinks about it for a couple of seconds. "Okay!" He takes a deep breath and blows the candles out, which makes the light disappear and everyone starts cheering.

The lights come back on and just before Frank's able to pick the cake up once more to go and cut it, Gerard's hugging him. "Thank you Frank," he says. "This has been the best birthday I've ever had!"

Frank puts his arm around Gerard and kisses the top of his head. "You're welcome, Gerard. I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself."

Gerard nods frantically. "I've had the best time!"

-

Gerard turns pretty sleepy after his birthday cake has been cut and shared out. He's had a busy day, from school to the party, having photos taken of him by nearly all of Frank's friends and Frank himself. He eats another forkful of cake, before pushing the plate aside. Quickly rubbing his eyes, he gets up and goes to Frank, pulling his hands away from his lap so he can sit down. "Tired," he says and lays his head on Frank's shoulder. "Wanna go home."

Frank checks the time on his watch, seeing that there's only an hour left. "Okay, just give me a chance to gather all your presents."

"No," Gerard whines, sounding as if he's going to cry. "Wanna go now, please."

"I'll take you home and then come back to pick up the presents," Linda says from across the table. "It's not fair to keep him awake when he's had such a busy day."

"All right. Let's get going, then."

Gerard manages to say goodbye to a few people before insisting he needs to go home and sleep once again. He gives Eliza a hug and says goodbye to Isabella and Ray, before holding Frank's hand and holding his lion stuffie as they walk out to the car. "I like your family," he yawns, climbing into the back of the car and letting Frank do his seat belt.

Frank smiles, brushing some hair out of Gerard's face. "Well the good thing there," he whispers, "is that now they're you're family too."

"All of them?" Gerard asks with barely open eyes. "I have a family again?"

"Yeah, you do. You're part of the family now, no one will change that."


	12. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may seem like a filler chapter, but it's more of a 'not much will happen but what does will have an impact on the rest of the story' chapter. Plus, character development, woo! As always, thank you to everyone who reads this, leaves comments, and kudos! I also want to mention that if you see that I haven't replied to someone in the comments, then I've probably sent them a message on social media (seeing as I have some of you on some of my other accounts), or I've forgotten - if I've forgotten to reply to your feedback then please let me know! I forget to reply sometimes or think I already have, but I don't want to ignore anyone!

A month passes and Gerard continues to surprise Frank and his family in many ways. It turns out that Gerard has what Frank's deemed as the most adorable singing voice. Frank had discovered it when he had walked into Gerard's room to tell him that dinner was ready, and whilst Gerard had stopped as soon as he was aware of Frank's presence, what Frank had heard was still wonderful. Gerard also has a flare for art - his actual style might not be the best, but his determination and passion is brilliant. As well as this, he's become more confident. Not enough to stray away from Frank whilst they're out, but enough to stay at Frank's mother's house whilst Frank works. Which is a good thing for everyone, seeing as Jackson quit and Frank's having difficulty finding a replacement for him. Not to mention Gerard's built a good relationship with Frank's mother. As well as this, it seems that Gerard's made a great rapport with his music teacher, and whilst Gerard's now determined to dye his hair green ("Mr Urine did it, I wanna do it."), Frank's glad that Gerard isn't completely alone in school, and that he's building enough confidence to communicate with other people.

"I think you should let him," Linda says, giving her opinion on the hair dying matter. She's sat at the table with Frank and Gerard, having them over for dinner like she has done once a week for the last month. "You've had weirder colours than green. Do you not remember your pink and white hair?"

"See, you had different colour hair!" Gerard whines. He crosses his arms over his chest and sits back in his chair, pouting. "You're not being fair!"

Frank sighs, looks at his mother as if to say _thanks for that_ , before looking back at Gerard. "Tell you what, go to school without trying to get out of it all this week, and I'll take you to the hairdressers on the weekend to see what they can do."

Gerard's grinning ear to ear. "Really? I can dye my hair?"

"Only if you go to school every day," Frank repeats. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Gerard says, nodding his head enthusiastically.

After the meal, Frank and Gerard do the dishes. Frank washes, Gerard dries and puts them away. "Why do we have to do the dishes?" Gerard asks. "'Cause we do them at home, too. So shouldn't Linda do her own?"

"It's manners," Frank explains as he hands Gerard a plate. "She cooked and prepared us food, so to show our graditude, we're cleaning."

"But... If we're her guests, shouldn't we be the ones who get to sit down and watch TV?"

"You can sit down and watch TV at home, but right now, we're doing the dishes," Frank says.

Gerard groans, but does as he's told. He's learnt that the quicker he does one task, the faster he can do what he wants. Mark never used to make him do the dishes, and whilst Gerard liked not having to clean, it was a contributing factor to how he felt different from everyone else. Frank gives him more responsibilities - and Gerard doesn't mind doing them, especially because he gets pocket money and rewards for doing them. Most of them are easy, but he struggles with tidying his room because sometimes his ankle hurts and he needs to rest, and other times he struggles to hold things properly. But Frank's made it clear that asking for help is a positive thing, and he's taking Gerard to see a doctor about his ankle.

Frank ends up finishing the dishes on his own. It's getting late and Gerard starts getting tired, so Frank sends him into the lounge to rest with Linda. Gerard's been close to calling Linda 'grandma' a couple of times, and even closer to calling Frank 'dad', but he always ends up going red and changing the subject. It doesn't matter to Frank though, Gerard's legally his son and that's what matters.

"He fell asleep about five minutes ago," Linda says when Frank walks into the room. She nods her head in Gerard's direction. He's laid on the couch with a pillow tucked under his arm, substituting the lion stuffie he left at home. "Watched some TV, went on about how excited he is about having his hair dyed, and then slept."

Frank chuckles. "Yeah, he's always tired after school." He sits next to his mother, "I'm still waiting to hear off the other school. See if I can sort out a tour of the place. He's just so unhappy at school, I can't bare to see him so sad. But the only issue is the money."

"If the price is too much, I can help out. But you need to consider taking money out of his bank account. You're his guardian, and you've been granted permission to have control over the funds. How much is even in there?"

"I can't remember the exact amount, but it's enough to buy a new house and still be financially stable for a year or two. I spoke to the bank and they explained that his parents had just sold the house. They were planning on moving away."

"That's kind of sad," Linda comments. "They were planning on leaving and instead, well, we know what happened."

Frank hums, not really wanting to talk about it. "Yeah, yeah we do." He lets out a sigh, "We best get going, anyway." He gets up, but gets pulled back down and looks at his mother. She looks sceptical. Frank asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just, well... I need to talk to you about something."

Frank furrows an eyebrow, growing concerned. "Okay... Go on."

"It's just, I need to know your opinion on something."

"I'm listening."

Linda takes a deep breath. She squeezes Frank's hand and gives him a tight lipped smile. "I love you, so much. And I know it was just you and me for a long time, especially when you were growing up, but-"

"But what?" Frank frowns, feeling anxiety set into him. "Has something happened?"

"Not really, no. I have a date, that's all. But I want you to know that you and Gerard come first, no matter what."

Frank feels himself relax. "Mom, it's fine. You gave up so much to raise me, you deserve to be happy."

"I know, but I didn't know how you'd react, and I just want you to know that I'll always put you -and Gerard- before my own needs, no matter how old you are."

Frank smiles, leaning in to hug her. "I know that. But you should go on a date, you'll have fun. Who knows, maybe you'll marry the guy."

Linda laughs and pulls back. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. But you're okay with this, yeah?"

Frank nods to confirm it. "I am, I promise. You'll have to introduce me to him if it goes well."

Linda squeezes Frank's hand. "Let's see how I get on with him first, yeah?"

-

Frank's woken up by a scream. He sits up in bed and looks around the room. When nothing else follows the scream, he starts to wonder if it was just his imagination. But then another scream comes, and Frank hauls himself out of bed quicker than he can count to five. He rushes downstairs, and goes into the living room. Nothing. He rushes into the kitchen, but again, nothing. And then Gerard's running in through the back door, tears running down his cheeks and his hands soaking wet.

"Frank! You have to come outside!" He exclaims, pulling the older male outside, not thinking to let him put shoes or at least slippers on first.

Frank holds back cuss words as his feet hit the wet ground, but then he sees it. There's a tiny tabby kitten in the back garden, laying on its side. Gerard's kneeling next to it, crying and looking at Frank as if he can fix the situation. Frank goes over and kneels down, pulls Gerard into his side, and takes a better look at the kitten. It doesn't look that bad - just in desperate need of some water and food. "Calm down, it's all right," he tells Gerard, worried he'll work himself into a panic attack. "We'll take him inside and see if we can help him, okay?"

Gerard nods and picks the tiny creature up from the wet grass. He cradles it to his chest and rubs his head, taking him inside. He listens to Frank when he's told to set him down on the table, then washing his hands and going back over to the kitten. "Is he going to be okay?"

As much as Frank hates to be negative, he hates to lie even more. "I'm not sure, but we can try. I'll see if I can get him to eat something, but you need to go to school, okay?"  
Gerard goes to protest, but then he remembers that he won't be allowed to dye his hair if he does. He hasn't complained all week, he doesn't want to ruin it now. "Okay," he says quietly. "Promise to look after him?"

"I promise," Frank nods. "Now go and get ready, do you need help getting changed?"

Gerard shakes his head. "I'm good," he says, then going upstairs.

-

After dropping Gerard off from school, Frank calls Amy over. Frank loves all animals, but he's only ever had dogs, and he knows Amy loves cats. It seems to be a good call, too, because she gets the kitten to eat. "It's a boy," she tells Frank. "And he was just outside the back door?"

"Yep." Frank places a cup of tea in front of Amy. "It shook Gerard up, but he seemed all right before I dropped him off. Said something about how he wants to call it a rock star name, so he's going to ask Mr Urine for a good name."

"He's fond of this teacher, isn't he?" Amy asks. "Have you ever met him?"

"No, but from what I've heard, he sounds like he used to be a lead singer of some bisexual rock band."

Amy snorts. "How can you get sexuality from anything you've been told about him?"

Frank shrugs. "I know my fellow bisexuals."

Amy tilts her head. "Wait, I thought you were straight?"

"I don't label it." Frank looks at Amy, moving his thumb to wipe a droplet of tea off her chin. "I've only ever dated girls. I kissed a guy once, it was nice. I just never really thought much of it."

Amy seems amazed by this information. "You really are full of surprises, aren't you?"

Frank winks. "You know it."

"Hey so, uh, I've been wanting to ask you something," Amy asks, scratching her knee. She's talking like she did when she did her first shift at the restaurant - nervous and not quite herself.

Frank turns to face her. "Yeah?" He asks, giving Amy a smile in hopes to try and make her feel less anxious.

"Well, it's just, my aunt is getting married, and I've been invited. But I don't have a date, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

Frank's taken back slightly. "I, uh," he stutters. "Like, as a date?"

"Yeah," Amy says quietly, any confidence she might have been storing completely disappearing. She looks down, "I know you haven't dated anyone since Jamia, and I get that, but I thought it might just be fun to go together."

Frank's quiet for a few seconds. "Okay," he says. "Yeah, that'd be awesome."

Amy's head whips up. "Really?"

"Really," Frank says. "In all honesty I don't know if I have feelings for you - I've blocked any feelings out since Jamia left. But I'll give it a go, if I'm going to start dating again, then I don't see a better person to take out."

"Well technically, I'm taking you out."

Frank rolls his eyes, "You know what I mean."

For the remaining time that Amy's over, Frank ponders over the question of if Amy's liked him for a while. He comes to the conclusion that she probably has - she doesn't get crushes often, and always takes time to think if it's a serious crush before acting on it. He can't help but feel sorry for her, though, because Frank doesn't know how to date, and he's probably been ignoring all the moves she's tried making on him for months.

"Oh the wedding's up in Ohio, by the way," Amy says as she's putting her coat on to leave. "There's rooms to book at the hotel though - that's where the reception is."

"That sounds great, but what about Gerard?"

"Maybe he could stay with your mother?" Amy suggests. "You've been going on about how well they get on."

"Yeah that's true..." Frank trails off. "I'll talk to him about it and get back to you, how's that?"

"Perfect," Amy smiles. She steps forward to hug him. They hug for a bit longer than they usually do, and Amy's glad her cheek is hidden in Frank's top so that he can't see her blush.

-

Gerard calls the kitten Iggy. "After Iggy Pop," he explains to Frank. "Do you think it suits him?"  
Frank nods, "Suits him wonderfully."

The kitten doesn't leave Gerard's side, and Gerard doesn't leave its side either. They sit on the floor whilst Gerard does his homework, the kitten sleeps at his feet whilst Gerard eats his food, and the kitten makes himself comfortable on the floor whilst Gerard has a bath. Frank had forgotten how great it could be to have a pet, and Gerard and Iggy are just as happy go be together as one another.

"Can we get him a collar tomorrow?"

"Sounds good. What colour should we get?" Frank pulls the bed sheet over Gerard, tucking him in. He sits on the edge, looking at Gerard.

The room's been redecorated to Gerard's liking. There's a shelf of stuffies and a shelf of superhero figurines. His books are stored in the bedside table, which doubles up as a book cabinet. The wall with the cupboard against it is partly decorated in posters - ranging from one's of Gerard's TV shows to Placebo and Bon Jovi. There's a few more things Frank's been meaning to get him - a radio, an alarm clock, a night light (Gerard certainly doesn't like the dark all that much), so the room isn't quite finished, but it's definitely Gerard's.

"Mm... Pink."

"All right, we'll get him pink," Frank says. "Are we reading tonight, or are you too tired?"

Gerard thinks about it, but his yawn answers the question for him. "Can we read before we go out tomorrow instead of tonight?" He asks, tiredness suddenly hitting him.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Frank smiles. He leans down and kisses Gerard on the forehead. "Goodnight Gerard."

"Goodnight da-" his cheeks go red, "Frank."

-

For the second time that day, Frank's woken up. But this time, it's by someone pushing his arm instead of a scream. He opens his eyes and turns his lamp on, looking up to see Gerard stood there with a wobbling bottom lip. "Gerard, what's wrong?" Frank asks, rubbing his eyes so he can see without the blurry edges. "Are you okay?"

Gerard shakes his head and sits himself in Frank's arms. His arms wrap around Frank, and he hides his face in his top. "Bad dream," he whispers, gripping onto the material of his top. "Don't wanna sleep ever again."

This has only happened once since Gerard's moved in, but Frank has rough ideas on how to handle the situation. "Do you want me to wait with you until you fall back to sleep?"

Gerard whimpers. "No. Not sleeping."

"How about we get something to drink?" Frank suggests. "Some warm milk or tea might help."

"I wanna drink coffee, then I'll be too awake to sleep and I'll never have to see the monsters again!"

Frank thinks of other options. "Do you want to sleep in my bed?" He asks. "I'll be here, and then nothing can hurt you. I promise."

Gerard's silent for a couple of seconds. "Okay," he says eventually. He gets out of Frank's arms to stand up. "But I wanna get Iggy, the monsters might get him."

Frank decides it's too late to go into the debate of monsters not being real. "Okay, let's go get him."

-

Iggy sleeps on the bedside table, next to Gerard's finished cup of tea. Frank leaves his lamp on for Gerard, deciding he'll turn it off when Gerard's asleep.

"Frank," Gerard yawns, curling up in himself and looking up at Frank through barely open eyes. "Can I ask you something? Mr Urine says I should ask you."

"You can always ask me things," Frank says, interested in what Gerard has to ask. "What is it?"

"Am I meant to call you dad? Or is it Frank?" He asks, seeming too tired to show the normal nerves he has around the topic.

Frank smiles softly. "Call me whatever you're comfortable with. I don't mind."

"Well, my bio-bi-bio-"

"Biological?"

"Yeah, that. My biological dad died, and you adopted me, so Mr Urine said that that legally makes you my dad."

Frank hums, brushing some hair out of Gerard's eyes. "It does."

"Okay, well, I'll call you dad then. 'Cause you're a good dad, and I wanna have a dad again."

Frank feels his heart break a little bit. "Okay," he says softly, kissing Gerard's forehead. "Now get some sleep."

"'Kay. Goodnight dad."

"Goodnight Gerard."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to work out the names for chapters, soon. Other wise some will be named, and others will just be called the number of the chapter they are. Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	13. Content

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of you who read/leave kudos/comment on/bookmark this story! It means so much to me!

Frank hears another sharp inhale above him and looks up. Gerard’s eyes are still overflowing with tears, and the quivering of his lips tells Frank that he’s still feeling the pain from the previous fall. “Almost done,” he promises, giving the bloody knee one more wipe with an antibacterial wipe. He then puts two pink plasters over the cut. “There we go, all done.”

Gerard wipes his nose with the end of his jumper. “Still hurts.”

“It will for a little while,” Frank says in reply, occupied with washing his hands. “I told you not to chase after Iggy, didn’t I?”

Gerard answers with a huff, but he’s soon giggling. Iggy’s pounced from the table to his shoulder, affectionately rubbing their cheeks together. “But he’s so cute, dad!”

Frank rubs Iggy’s head. “I agree, but still, no more chasing Iggy. Got it?”

Gerard groans over dramatically, but reluctantly nods his head “Okay… Are we seeing Grandma today?”

“Tonight,” Frank corrects. “Which reminds me, I need to have a word with you.” Frank sits down next to Gerard at the kitchen table. “How would you feel about staying over at Grandma’s house for a night, without me.”

Gerard’s cheery express falls off his face. There’s no trace of the previous positive expression. “Without you?” He asks, moving his hand up to his mouth to chew on his thumb nail

“I’ll be coming back the next day,” Frank says, not wanting Gerard to get the wrong idea. He softly pushes Gerard’s hand away from his mouth, determined to help him stop the anxious trait. “And if you’re not comfortable with the idea then it won’t happen.”

Gerard stuffs his hands back into his sleeves, balling the end of them over his fingertips. “Where are you going?”

“Amy asked me to go to a wedding with her.”

“Is it a date?”

Frank smiles slightly, soft creases showing by the corners of his lips. “Yeah, it is.”

“Okay… I’ll stay at grandma’s.”

“You’re sure you’re comfortable with it?” Frank asks. “I’ll have other dates, Gerard. You don’t have to do this just to benefit me.”

“I do,” Gerard insists. “Eliza said that everyone has to do things they might not be comfortable with to make other people happy, and you make me happy, so I wanna do this and make you happy.”

Frank grins. “Have I ever told you that you’re my favourite son?”

Gerard rolls his eyes. “I’m your _only_ son.”

“Exactly. Now, seeing as you’ve been so mature about all of this, how about I take you to that Queen tribute act I said you were too young to go to?"

Gerard’s eyes light up with excitement. “You’re gonna take me?!”

Frank nods his head. “You’re more mature than I give you credit for.”

Gerard hugs Frank’s waist. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

-

“I’m not cooking tonight, what take out should we get?” Linda says as she holds the door open for Gerard and Frank.

“Indian!” Gerard says before anyone else can get another word in. His cheeks go red when he sees the look Frank’s giving him. “Please,” he adds.

“Seeing as you remembered your manners, I think Indian sounds great,” Linda smiles.

“Thank you,” Gerard says, before giving Linda a hug. He steps back, “Dad said you had a date today, did it go well?”

“Indeed it did,” Linda says, putting her hand on Gerard’s back as they follow Frank. “It went well, thank you for asking.”

Gerard sits in his favourite chair - the big green one with soft decorative cushions - with his legs crossed. “Dad’s got a date, I’m gonna stay here though ‘cause dad wants time alone to smooch.”

“Gerard!”

“Oh leave him be, there’s worst things to do than smooch,” Linda says and takes a seat next to Frank. “However, I would have liked to known that Gerard was staying here before you asked him. When is this?”

“In a couple of weeks, it’s a wedding up in Ohio, I was going to ask if you would be happy to have Gerard for the night, drop him off at school the next day, I’ll pick him up later on.”

“Ohio? Frank, you’ll have to leave the day before to get to Ohio in time for that wedding. It’s at least an eight hour drive… You haven’t quite thought this through, have you?”

Frank’s cheeks go red, “Uh, well.”

“Are you planning on driving up?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Linda shakes her head. “You have the worst organisation ever, do you know that?”

“He forgot to wash my clothes the other day, so he gave me the day off and we watched movies,” Gerard chips in.

Linda gives Frank an expression to say you’re unbelievable, but doesn’t make a verbal comment on the matter. “Who’re you going with?”

“Amy.”

“Go ring her, sort out what’s going on, and then we can sort out the arrangements for Gerard to stay here.” She watches Frank get up with his phone in his hand. “But please, be organised next time.”

-

Gerard’s sat in the back of the car with Linda in the front. Frank’s inside the take away getting the promised Indian for them. “Grandma, can I ask you something?”

Linda turns around. “Of course you can. What is it?”

Gerard takes his shoe off, removes his sock, and takes out a folded photograph. He unfolds it carefully, places it on his lap and tries to smooth out the creases before handing it to Linda. “Who is she? I found it under dad’s desk, and the last time I showed him a picture of her he got all mad at me and shouted... “

Just looking at the picture makes Linda feel sick. She looks at the Indian restaurant, not seeing Frank coming out and turns back to Gerard. “That’s the woman your dad was meant to marry. She left him about two weeks before they were due to get married, ran off with another man.”

“Oh.” Gerard frowns. “That’s not nice. Why would she do that?”

Linda holds back the degrading names she’s called Jamia in the past. “I guess she just didn’t love your dad anymore, wanted to be with someone else. It’s not very nice though.”

Gerard shakes his head. “She sounds nasty. I don’t like her.”

“Not many of us do,” Linda says. “I’ll keep a hold of the picture for now. Do you need help putting your shoe back on?”

“Nope.” Gerard slides his sock on. “Dad showed me how to do laces.”

“Very well.”

“Can I ask you another thing?”

Linda watches Gerard put his shoe on. “Yeah, go on.”

“Where’s dad’s dad?”

Linda swallows thickly, tucking some hair behind her ear. “He left a long time ago.”

“Why?”

“It’s a complicated matter,” Linda explains, “don’t bring it up with your dad though, he uh, he isn’t very keen on talking about it.”

“Okay,” Gerard says with a shrug. He looks out the window and waves to Frank when he sees him coming.

“Not a word about it,” Linda says.

“Promise,” Gerard says, pretending to zip and lock his mouth shut.

-

“Do you think you’re going to see that guy again?” Frank asks his mother as they walk to the kitchen.

 

“Probably,” Linda nods. “It was pleasant.”

Frank puts the bags of food down on the counter. “You should bring him by the restaurant,” he suggests.

“Maybe. Not quite yet,” Linda says and gets plates out. “Also, we need to have a word.”

Frank turns his head to face his mother. “What is it?” He asks. He’s started opening the boxes and sharing the food out between three plates. “Come get your food, Gerard!”

Linda smiles at Gerard when he comes in. “You can eat in the lounge, love. You know how to work the TV don’t you?”

Gerard, with a mouthful of curry, nods his head. “I know how,” he muffles before shuffling off into the lounge.

“You know, he’s the only one I know who can eat Piro Aloo Dum. He loves spicy things, especially curries,” Frank comments as he watches Gerard go into the lounge. “Anyway,” he shares out the chicken Korma between his and his mother’s plate. “What do you want to talk about?”

Linda digs into her pocket and places the photograph on the counter. “This.”

Frank thinks he stops breathing momentarily when he sees the photo. Although he can’t see his own face, he’s willing to bet good money that it’s paled. “Where did you get that?”

“Gerard found it,” Linda whispers, not wanting Gerard to hear her and think he’s in trouble. “He asked me who she is. Said the last time he he asked you, you shouted at him.”

Frank bites his inner mouth. He knows exactly what Gerard was referencing. “What’d you tell him?”

“The truth,” Linda says, scoffing when Frank looks at her worriedly. “Not everything. Just that she left you for another man. That’s all.”

Frank nods. “All right, well, thanks.” He turns to go in the lounge, but Linda takes a hold of his arm.

“It’s been years. You should be over this by now,” Linda says in the softest voice possible. “Stop living in the past.”

“Trust me, I’m trying.”

-

Frank lays Gerard down his back and straightens out his back, groaning. Every time Gerard falls asleep in the car, Frank can’t wake him. Well, he can’t, but he won’t. Gerard’s had a bad run of nightmares lately, so Frank’s been trying to let him as much peaceful sleep as possible. And every time Gerard falls asleep in the car, Frank carriers him in.

A giggle emerges from Gerard, and Frank looks down to see his eyes squeezed shut and a little smile on his face. Frank kneels down, one hand on his lower back where he feels pain. “Did someone pretend to be asleep so I’d carry them in?”

Gerard opens one eye, determined not to giggle, but bursts out with laughter. “If they did… Would they be in trouble?”

Frank shakes his head. “Not at all.”

“Good.” Gerard moves his head to get comfy on the pillow. “Can we watch a movie?”

Frank checks his watch. Gerard should already be asleep, but it’s a Saturday, and Frank’s actually dying to see what happens at the end of _My Neighbour Totoro_. “All right,” he stands up, “are we having popcorn?”

“Duh,” Gerard says, sitting up. “But only sweet, I don’t like salty.”

Frank makes a bowl of popcorn and two strawberry smoothies, even though it’s too late for Gerard to be doing any of this. He takes them into the lounge, stopping in his tracks momentarily. Gerard’s sat on the couch with his eyelids half closed, the lion stuffie squished between his chest and his knees that have been brought up to his chest. Frank knows that Gerard’s going to fall asleep within five minutes of the film, but he doesn’t mind.

A thought comes into Frank’s head, one that he’s never had before. He’s glad Jamia left him. Because if it wasn’t for that betrayal, Frank might not have Gerard as a son, and Frank doesn’t want to think about life without the boy who’s brought him so much happiness and taught him so many lessons in just two months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to start naming the previous chapters,,,


	14. Conceal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being patient with me when it comes to updating this, and thank you for all of the feedback, support, kudos and bookmarks you give me/this fic!

“Gerard,” Frank sighs, pleading with himself in his head not to get mad. He runs his hands over his face, before crossing his arms, “I won’t be telling you again, we need to get going.”

Gerard doesn’t shift his position; staying slouched on the couch, arms crossed over his chest and the hood of his jacket over his head. He hasn’t spoken anything other than the mumble of a ‘good morning’ he gave at the table.

“Do you want me to tell grandma you’re being naughty? I don’t think she’d be very pleased to hear that.”

Gerard groans, throwing his head back. He’s been in a mood since he woke up, and Frank has no idea what brought it on. Gerard barely touched his breakfast, whereas he usually scoffs it down so quickly that Frank has to remind him to take the time to actually chew and enjoy his food.

Frank checks his watch, seeing that they’re already late. Gerard was supposed to be at Linda’s ten minutes ago, and Frank’s late for his shift. He sends Amy a quick text message to tell her he’ll be there as soon as possible. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” He asks, sitting down on the arm of the couch. He pushes Gerard’s hood down and ruffles his hair softly, “Anything I can help with?”

Gerard moves his head away from Frank and curls up in a ball on the couch. Frank sighs. What’s he meant to do?

-

Linda walks through the door of her son’s house - having used her key - and calls out to say hello, before following Frank’s voice to the lounge. He’s sat on the couch, with Gerard next to him, curled in on himself with the soles of his feet pressed against Frank’s leg. “Is he asleep?” She mouths.

Frank shakes his head. He stands up, scratching the back of his neck and yawning. “He’s been like it all morning,” he shrugs, taking another look at his son. “Won’t talk about what’s wrong either?”

“It’s probably nothing,” Linda insists. “You were worse than this when you were his age. Remember that time you went in a mood with me because I used your black eyeliner?”

There’s a barely-audible giggle from the couch, which is accompanied by Gerard looking up with a small smile on his face.

“See? He’ll be fine,” Linda tells Frank.

Frank hums, going over to Gerard. He kisses his forehead, “I’ll see you after, all right?”

Gerard nods his head. “Don’t get mad if Amy wears eyeliner,” he grins.

Frank jokingly narrows his eyes, “Cheeky.”

-

Work is manic. Not in a bad way, per say, just in the sense of there being a lot of customers and Frank being understaffed. “We’re going to have to start interviewing people for kitchen jobs,” Amy says as her and Frank wash dishes. “My nails are suffering - I only got them done yesterday.”

Frank rolls his eyes. “Yeah same, I hate it when my nails get ruined.”

Amy elbows Frank’s upper arm, grinning in victory when he shows a pained expression. “You joke about it, but I’m willing to put a lot of money on the fact that you used to wear black nail varnish.”

Frank can’t believe how much he’s been teased about his teenage fashion sense today. “I’ll have you know that I rocked that look, thank you.”

“Sure,” Amy chuckles. “But in all seriousness, didn’t you get bullied for it? Weren’t people against men wearing nail varnish back in your day?”

Frank stops and turns to Amy, looking straight on at her. “Back in your day? How old do you think I am?”

“Old enough to consider retiring,” Amy teases, squealing when Frank splashes water on her. “You’re lucky I’ve got this on,” she says, referring to her apron. “Dickhead.”

“You call me a dickhead, and yet you begged me to go to the wedding with you.”

Amy cheeks heat up. “I did not beg you at all!” She says defensively.

Frank chuckles. “Relax, I’m only messing around. You are rather cute when you get all embarrassed, though.”

Amy’s cheeks go redder, and she watches as Frank’s tint with red at the realisation of what he said. “Uh, anyway…”

“Yeah, moving on,” Frank says, acting as if he’s back in high school and just told someone he liked them.

-

Gerard dries his hands in the towel, having finally managed to get the red marker off his palms. He places the towel back on the towel rack in the bathroom before walking out, Iggy trailing after him. They walk downstairs, Gerard humming a song he heard on the radio the other day, but stopping when he hears his grandmother talking on the phone to someone. Being as sneaky as he’s able to, he creeps into the lounge. Linda’s stood with her back towards Gerard, her phone in her hand. Gerard stays still and doesn’t say a word.

“Yes I know I know,” Linda says into the phone with a sigh. “I know you want to, but I can guarantee you he doesn’t want you to. No, I haven't asked him - because I know what his reaction’s going to be.”

There’s a silence for a good minute or two.

“Look, you need to calm down about this. It isn’t his fault, if anyone’s it’s yours!” Linda says, starting to get wound up. “You should have never-”

Iggy lets out a meow, and Linda turns around quickly before she finishes her sentence. She looks horrified at the fact that Gerard’s stood there. “I’ll call you back later,” she tells the person on the other side of the phone, before slipping it into her pocket. “Gerard, uh-”

“Who was that?” Gerard asks, sitting on the arm of the couch. “You sounded mad… Are you okay?”

Linda’s lips purse together, and Gerard sees the resemblance of her and Frank. “No one in important,” she tries shrugging it off, “do you want to get get ice cream?”

Gerard shakes his head. “Not until you tell me who you were on the phone to,” he says stubbornly.

Linda has to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She doesn’t know if Gerard was stubborn before, but if he wasn’t, he’s definitely picked it up from Frank. “Just a friend, that’s all.”

“And why are you mad at them?”

“Because they did a very horrible thing,” Linda says, stopping herself from snapping at Gerard. None of this is his fault, he doesn’t realise the pain it’s causing her by talking about it. “Now enough about it. Let’s go get ice cream.”

“And pizza?”

Linda nods her head, “I don’t see why not.”

-

Gerard’s sat on the inside of the seat at the table, Linda next to him. Frank (his lion stuffie) is sat opposite Gerard on the table, next to his half eaten bowl of ice cream. Gerard’s pretty full, but he knows he shouldn’t waste food, and so he tries to eat some more of it.

“If you’re full, you can leave it,” Linda says, rubbing Gerard’s back. “You needn’t force yourself when you can’t eat anymore, it’ll make your stomach ache.”

Gerard lets out a little sigh of relief, putting his spoon back in the bowl. “‘Kay,” he says, laying his head on top of his crossed arms on the table.

Linda smiles fondly at her grandson, continuing to rub his back in small circles. In all honesty she wasn’t sure if she was keen on Frank adopting when he first mentioned it after Jamia’s departure. But now, sat her with Gerard, she can’t believe she ever doubted the love she could have for Frank’s child, regardless of if they were blood related or not.

Gerard lifts his head up to say something, but he stops when he sees a man walking over to the table. “Who’s that?” He asks with a frown.

Linda follows Gerard’s gaze and gasps. “Stay here,” she says and gets up, rushing over to the man and stopping him from coming over.

Gerard watches as his grandmother has a conversation with the man, although he’s not able to hear them. The man looks away from Linda temporarily to look at Gerard, and gives him a friendly enough smile. Gerard hesitantly smiles and gives the man a small wave. Only seconds later the man is walking over to Gerard, Linda by his side.

“Gerard, this is Calvin,” Linda says, sitting back down by Gerard but keeping her eyes on Calvin.

“Hi,” Gerard says quietly, moving closer to Linda as Calvin sits down on the other side. Remembering what his dad always says about being polite to people, Gerard sticks his hand out to the older man, doing his best to ignore the anxiety inside of him. “I’m Gerard.”

Calvin smiles, shaking Gerard’s hand briefly. “It’s nice to meet you, Gerard. I’ve heard lots of things about you.”

“How?” Gerard cocks his head to the side. “Do you know my dad?”

“No, he doesn’t,” Linda’s quick to say. “He’s just… A friend of mine, that’s all.”

“How come dad doesn’t know him?” Gerard asks. “He knows all of your other friends.”

“Only recently did your grandmother and I start being friends,” Calvin explains. He gives Linda a pained looked and then looks back at Gerard. “I haven’t had the time to meet Frank, yet.”

Gerard nods his head, satisfied enough with the answer. “How did you meet my grandma?” He retrieves his stuffie from the other side of the table, holding him in his lap and squeezing one of his legs in order to try and stop the nerves he feels.

At the exact same time, Linda blurts out “Coffee house,” and Calvin says “Book club.” They share a look before looking at Gerard, who looks confused.

“A book club meeting, at the coffee house,” Linda says, swallowing thickly.

Gerard nods his head slowly, looking down at his stuffie, and missing the angered look that Linda gives Calvin.

-

“So I can confirm you’re coming to the wedding?” Amy asks as she and Frank sit in his office by the windows. It’s too cold to smoke outside, so they’ve opened the windows slightly, shut the door, wrapped up in their coats and are smoking in order not to set off the fire alarm (or let the customers or other workers smell the smoke). Amy’s feet are under her as she sits on the chair, Frank next to her on his larger, black office chair.

Frank blows smoke out of his mouth. “Yeah, my mom's having Gerard. It’s for three days, right? The day we get there, the wedding itself the next day, and then flying back the day after the wedding?”

“Yep,” Amy confirms

“Do I need to pay for a hotel or anything?”

“Nope,” Amy says. “The bride’s father will, they’re not exactly a poor family, lets say.”

Frank nods his head, “Sweet,” he says before taking another drag of his cigarette.

“Just for the record,” Amy starts, hating how her cheeks are already red. “I think you’re cute too.”

Frank smiles, dropping ash outside the window. “Thanks,” he cracks his knuckle, “I’m really excited to go to the wedding with you, by the way.”

“You are?” Amy asks a bit too excitedly.

Frank laughs, leaning forward to putting his hand on Amy’s knee. He looks up at her, “Of course I am. I know I’ve never been much for romance, or at least, not since Jamia left…” He trails off for a few seconds, “but that doesn’t stop me from being excited about a date with you.”

Amy feels a rush of excitement inside of her. There’s a kick start of adrenaline within her, and before her mind is able to register what’s going through her head, she’s leaning forward and kissing Frank on the mouth.

Frank’s taken back by the action from Amy, too shocked to kiss back. He watches with widened eyes as Amy moves back, jaw dropped and her left hand twitching, looking just as shocked as Frank. “Fuck, shit,” she says, starting to panic. “I didn’t, I shouldn’t have-”

Frank puts his cigarette, moving his hand out so the pad of his thumb can run over Amy’s lip. “You’re talking too much,” he tells Amy in a hushed tone. His eyes flicked back from her lips to her eyes, before they’re both moving forward, their lips meeting in the middle.

The kiss doesn’t last long - longer than the kiss prior, but not long enough for it to develop into a makeout session. When they pull back they’re both wearing the same happy expression, and Frank realises just how much he’s missed having feelings for someone. “That was…”

“Nice, very nice, very good,” Amy says, cheeks reddened, looking up at Frank. She briefly looks at the clock behind him, “I uh, I should get back to work.”

Frank nods his head, an unmissable smile on his face. “Yeah, same.”

Once they’ve shut the windows and Amy’s cigarette is out, they walk towards the door. When the back of Frank’s fingers brush against Amy’s, Amy doesn’t think twice before entwining their fingers together.

-

When Frank goes to pick Gerard up from Linda’s, Gerard’s sat at the table drawing a picture whilst Linda’s reading a book. She looks up when Frank speaks, offering him a smile. “I didn’t hear you come in,” she puts her book down, “how was work?”

Frank, now sat next to Linda, folds his arms. “It was good,” he replies, deciding not to go into the details about him and Amy. “How’s your day been?”

“The same old, nothing unusual happened,” Linda shrugged. She turns to look at Gerard, “Do you want to get your bag, darling?”

Gerard nods his head. He puts his pencil down and gets up, going upstairs to retrieve his things.

Frank leans over the table to see what Gerard’s drawn. He picks up the paper and moves it closer to himself so that he and Linda can see it. Gerard’s drawn three figures - one tall one with scruffy black hair, one slightly smaller one with long brown hair, and one slightly smaller figure again, with red hair. “I think it’s us,” Frank smiles, and Linda hums in agreement.

“I’ll have to buy some more paper for him to draw on,” Linda goes on to say. “I only bought a new pack last week but he loves drawing and making crafts more than anything.”

“You can say that again,” Frank chuckles. “I’ll send a pack over with him next time, I bought a couple of them the last time we went to the mall.”

“That reminds me,” Linda tucks some of her hair behind her ear, “he told me that the next colour for his hair should be blonde.”

“Blonde? He said to me the other day he wanted black.”

Linda shrugs, “Let him experiment, it seems to make him happy.”

Gerard comes back in the room with his bag on his back. “I’m ready to go,” he tells Frank, pulling on his sleeve.

“Wait a second Gerard, you need to say goodbye to grandma.”

Gerard groans, but goes over to Linda and gives her a hug. “Bye grandma,” he says and stands back up straight. “Thanks for taking me for ice cream.”

Linda smiles fondly. “You’re very welcome.”

-

It’s an hour before Gerard’s bedtime when Gerard has an anxiety attack. Frank had been outside to get clothes in from the line. Gerard had come downstairs after a nap, and when he couldn’t find Frank inside and the back door was locked, he thought he had been abandoned. When Frank came back in to see Gerard curled in on himself in the lounge, he dropped the dried laundry and rushed over to him. It took a good half an hour to get Gerard to calm back down, although now he’s upset over the fact that he forgot his lion stuffie at Linda’s. “Please can we go get him?” He asks, sniffling and looking up at Frank. “I can’t sleep without him.”

Frank sighs. It’s a twenty minute drive to his mother’s house, and it’s getting dark outside. But on the other hand, he doubts Gerard will sleep very well (if at all) without the stuffed animal. “All right, but straight to bed when we get back.”

“After a story?” Gerard asks, a small smile starting to be visible on his lips. “Please?”

“One story, and then it’s straight to bed.”

-

Gerard’s dozed off and woken up multiple times when he and Frank reach Linda’s. He sits up in the car and rubs his eyes. “I wanna come in too,” he says as Frank’s getting out of the car.

“Well of course, I’m not going to leave you in the dark,” Frank responds.

As they walk up to the house, they realise that there’s two cars parked in the (open) garage instead of just Linda’s. “I wonder who’s that could be,” Frank says, continuing to walk with Gerard.

“Maybe it’s Calvin’s. He’s grandma’s friend.”

Frank furrows his eyebrows together. “Calvin? I’ve never met him.”

Gerard yawns. “I met him today.”

Frank decides to let it go, and knocks the front door. They stand there for a few minutes before the door opens. Linda’s in a dressing gown and her hair’s a mess, despite it only being eight o’clock. “I uh, hope we aren’t interrupting anything…” He trails off, uncomfortable with the idea of what he and Gerard might have just interrupted.

“No! No, of course not,” Linda says awkwardly, pulling the top side of her dressing down closer to the other side and holding both sides together. “Come in.”

Gerard and Frank step inside. “I forgot my stuffie,” Gerard explains. “I need to go get him.”

“I’ll do it,” Linda says quickly, rushing upstairs before anyone can say another word.

Frank and Gerard share a look. “Is she okay?” Gerard asks, rubbing his eye.

“I think so.” Frank scratches the back of his head.

They go in the lounge and can hear arguing from upstairs - Linda and a male voice. The male voice sounds familiar to Frank, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. When the arguing gets louder, causing Gerard to put his hands over his ears, Frank decides to intervene. “I’ll be back in just a second,” he tells Gerard, switching the TV onto a show for Gerard and turning the TV up. He kisses his head, “It’ll be alright.”

Frank walks out of the lounge and to the bottom of the stairs. “Mom?” He calls up, putting one food on the bottom stair. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine!” Linda calls. And then Frank’s name is being called by the male, and Frank’s completely confused.

“I’m coming up,” Frank says. He rushes up the stairs, regardless of his mother shouting at him not to come back down. He swings the door of her bedroom open, and when the scene in front of him comes into his vision, Frank feels his chest tighten. He stumbles back a bit, hand reaching behind him just in time to hold onto the door and stop himself from falling.

“Frank, listen-”

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Frank practically roars, eyes burning holes into the man sat on the bed.

“Look, if you calm down-”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Frank snaps. “You don’t get to come back!”

“I think you’re overreacting.”

“You left us!” Frank shouts, eyes tearing up as he looks at the man he used to call his father. “You just fucked off when it all got too hard for you, so don’t you dare tell me what I can and can’t do.”

All of a sudden there’s a hand holding Frank’s from behind him, and he turns around to see Gerard with tear stained cheeks and a wobbling lip. “I wanna go home,” he whimpers.

Frank nods his head, no longer wanting to be in this house himself. “We’re going.”

-

When Frank’s putting Gerard to bed later on, Gerard hands him one of his smaller stuffed animals - a pink bear called Robert. “‘Cause you were upset earlier,” Gerard explains.

Frank smiles at the gesture and takes the stuffed animal from him, even if it won’t help with anything. “Have I ever told you that you’re my favourite son?”

Gerard rolls his eyes. “All the time, ‘cause I’m the only one!”

Frank presses a kiss to Gerard’s forehead, pulling him into a hug. “I know, but I never want you to forget how special you are to me, okay?”

Gerard nods, watching as Frank stands up. “Night dad.”

Frank turns Gerard’s nightlight on and turns the main light off. “Goodnight.”

-

Frank cries himself to sleep. He can’t get over the fact that his father’s back, and that his mother’s seeing him. He can’t get over it, it doesn’t seem like it’s even a possibility, but clearly enough, it is. He goes to sleep with an aching in his head and his chest. He hopes that he’ll wake up and it’ll turn out to just be a dream, but he's all to aware of the harsh reality that’s setting in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Frank's father's name isn't Calvin -- that'll be explained more in the next chapter.


	15. Realisation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting sooner, I've had a bit of writer's block since posting the last one shot on this account! This chapter was going to be a very different, but I actually prefer how it's turned out! There's a new character introduced in this chapter, also! Thank you for being patient with me and supporting me/this fanfiction!

“Gerard, no- don’t touch them.” Frank moves one of Gerard’s hands to stop his fingers picking at the bandage wrapped around his hand. “The nurses wrapped your hand for a reason.”

Gerard whines, snatching his hand back from Frank and turning away from him, trying to pick off the bandage. The material is making his skin itch and he doesn’t like the way it looks.

“Gerard,” Frank says sternly, watching him from the driver’s seat. “Either you leave the bandages alone or you’re grounded, and that includes not seeing Eliza on the weekend.”

Gerard groans and slumps back into his seat, tipping his head back and folding his arms. “You’re the worst, ever.”

Frank rolls his eyes, ignoring the comment, and starts the car.

-

“I told you not to do that.” Apparently ignoring what Frank says is Gerard’s speciality today. The bandage has stayed on his hand but now he’s spread all his art stuff across the living room floor, when Frank told him to keep it all on the table in neat piles. Frank rubs his forehead, hand on hip, “Clean it up now please, Gerard. I’ve got enough on my mind.”

Gerard opts once again to ignore his dad, and continues to keep colouring the picture of a cat. He doesn’t even look up when Frank starts saying something else, and decides that now is a great time to put his earphones in.

Frank can’t believe the defiance Gerard’s showing him. Usually Gerard’s as good as gold, but he does have days where he’s mischievous, and Frank supposes one of those days are today. He kneels down in front of Gerard and takes the earbuds out of his ears, finally getting his attention. “Clean this up, I won’t tell you again.”

Gerard starts to do as he’s told, but not without giving Frank a nasty look.

-

Gerard’s ‘rebellious’ mood shifts into a sad mood by the time the clock reads three o’clock. He’s laying on the couch with a cushion under his head and holding his bandaged had to his chest. The reason his hand is wrapped isn’t because he burnt it or broke it, it’s because his hand cramped up and hurt enough that he was nearly in hysterics, so Frank took him to the emergency room. The nurse had said it was just a bad cramp, nothing to really worry about, but she treated it with some soothing cream and a bandage to show Gerard that it was being taken seriously.

Frank walks into the living room and ruffles Gerard’s hair, sitting by his feet. “How’s your hand feeling?”

“Okay,” Gerard answers, monotone.

“You looking forward to seeing Eliza on the weekend?”

Gerard mutters his reply, and when Frank doesn’t hear it and asks him to repeat it, Gerard just sighs. “I rather see grandma.”

Frank inhales sharply. He hasn’t seen his mother since he walked in to see his father in the bedroom with her. She’s text him a few times, but they’ve all been ignored. However, seeing the hurt and worry twisted up onto Gerard’s face let’s Frank realise just how selfish he’s being about this. Maybe Frank is in a mood with his mother, and he’s pretty sure he’s gonna have to restrain himself from throwing his fist into his father’s face out of anger, but the thing is, Frank isn’t the only one being affected by this situation. Linda is Gerard’s grandmother, Frank doesn’t have the right to stop her from seeing Gerard when she’s done nothing wrong to him.

Frank rubs his eyes to stop tears coming out and stands up. “In that case we better go see her.”

Gerard looks up. “Really? Am I allowed?”

Frank feels his heart ache a little bit. “Of course you are, silly. Why wouldn’t you be?”

Gerard sits up, patting down some of his hair that’s a bit messy due to laying on that side. “Because you and her were arguing so I thought that you weren’t talking no more.”

Frank sits next to Gerard. “We did argue, I haven’t spoken to her for a couple of days, but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to see her. She might be my mother, but she’s your grandmother. I’m not going to stop you from seeing her, ever.”

Gerard nods his head slowly, then looking at Frank. “So…” He trails off before smiling the most he has all day, “Can we go see her now?”

Frank stands up, “Of course.”

-

Frank would be lying if he said he doesn’t feel a sense of relief when he sees his father’s car isn’t parked outside his mother’s house. As soon as he’s parked the car, Gerard’s rushed to the front door and knocks it. Frank gets out at a normal pace, and feels a surge of anxiety inside of him. He knows his mother isn’t going to hold the fact that he’s been ignoring her against him, but he’s starting to feel bad about it.

When Linda opens the door, Gerard throws his arms around her with a cheerful ‘Grandma!’ and Linda’s expression matches her grandson’s tone. “Hello sweetheart,” she says, kissing his cheek. “No school today?”

Gerard pulls back to show her his hand. “Had to go to hospital.”

“Just a cramp.” Frank explains when Linda gives him a worried, curious look. “I think it’s all right now anyway,” he looks at Gerard, “right?”

Gerard confirms what his dad said with a nod of his head. “S’kay now,” he tells Linda.

Linda says she’s glad to hear it, before inviting both of them in. Gerard goes straight into the kitchen to see if Linda’s made any cookies (there’s usually cookies or cupcakes there), but Frank lingers in the hall with his mother. “I want to apologise-”

“I’m the one who should be apologising,” Linda interrupts. “I should have told you about your dad, Frank. I just didn’t know how it was going to go down, and I didn’t think I would ever have more than one date with him.”

“How long have you been seeing him?” Frank asks, putting his hands into his pockets.

“Not long, just two weeks, something like that.”

“Right right,” Frank says, trying to process all of this information. “Are you back together?”

“I’m not really sure,” Linda says honestly. “He doesn’t know if he wants a proper relationship.”

Frank has to stop himself from rolling his eyes in order not to hurt his mother’s feelings. “Is he living round here?”

“He’s living just outside of Bayonne,” Linda explains. “He’s stayed here once or twice when he isn’t working.”

Frank nods his head, deciding he doesn’t want to know anymore. “I’m just gonna use the toilet,” he says and slips upstairs before Linda can say anything.

Linda lets out a short breath and heads into the kitchen. Gerard’s sat on the table with a plate of cookies, looking through the gossip magazines Linda keeps next to the fruit bowl. Linda kisses  Gerard’s forehead, laughing when Gerard rubs his forehead to get Linda’s ‘gross’ lipstick mark off. “Are you enjoying those cookies?”

Gerard hums, waiting to swallow the mouthful of food he has before speaking. “Yeah,” he doesn’t look up from the magazines, “I like these shoes.”

Linda looks at the picture Gerard’s pointing at. He’s on the fashion page, and looking at a pair of black converse. She smiles at the picture; they look exactly like the ones Frank had when he was in high school. “We’ll have to get you some,” she says. “What size are you?”

“Uhh…” Gerard takes his shoe off under the table and moves his head down to have a look. “A seven,” he raises his head but miscalculates how close it is to the table, which results in him whacking the back of his head into the table with a thud and a cry.

Linda cusses and gets out of her seat to kneel down in front of Gerard. “Is your head okay?”

Gerard shakes his head, hands at the back where he hit it, bent over in pain. “Hurts,” he whimpers.

Linda cusses again, this time under her breath, before getting up and going to the bottom of the stairs. “Frank!” She calls. “I think we’re gonna have to go back up to the emergency room.”

Frank rushes down the stairs, having left the bathroom in such a rush that he’s still doing the zipper of his jeans up. “What’s happened?”

“Gerard hit the back of his head on the table,” Linda says, chewing her lip.

“Fuck,” is all that Frank says before he rushes into the kitchen to see Gerard.

Gerard hasn’t moved from his position, and remains in it even when Frank’s come in.

Frank takes one look at Gerard and nods at his mother. “Hospital.”

-

As they sit in the waiting room, Frank feels like he’s being judged  by everyone around him. What type of father lets their child hurt themselves so much that they need two hospital trips in one day?

“Dad,” Gerard says from the seat next to Frank. He starts to giggle, “There’s toilet roll on your show.”

Frank looks down and sees that in fact, there is toilet roll on his shoe. It’s embarrassing to say the least, but at least it’s made Gerard laugh. “How’s your head?” Frank asks when the toilet paper’s been removed. “Any better?”

“S’kay,” Gerard shrugs. “Hurts a little bit, not as much though.”

A couple of minutes later, they’re called into see a nurse. Linda stays in the waiting room whilst Gerard and Frank make their way into the observation room.

“So, what’s happened here?” The nurse asks informally, giving the two a smile and closing the door behind Frank.

“He hit his head on the table,” Frank says as Gerard stands with his back to them, looking at the posters on the wall. Frank steps closer to the nurse to whisper, “He’s suffered with head trauma before, though. That’s why we’re so worried.”

“Oh okay,” the nurse nods her head. “What’s his name? I can bring up his medical records on the computer.”

Frank sits down on the chair opposite the nurse’s desk. “Gerard Way.”

Gerard turns around, “Yeah?”

“No I was telling the nurse your name, but come sit down please.”

The nurse pulls Gerard’s file up, scans through it and stands up. “I’m going to have a doctor look at Gerard,” she says. “It could be more serious due to… Previous events.”

Frank feels his heart strings being tugged. “Okay,” he says and watches the nurse walk out. He turns to Gerard, forcing himself to smile when Gerard looks worried. “It’ll be okay,” he says, stretching his arm out and letting Gerard cuddle into his side for comfort.

-

“I’m Dr. Ipsum, take a seat,” the doctor tells Frank and his family, the three of them sitting down. They’ve been moved to a different office - the doctor’s office - and Frank’s got a bad feeling about it. “The nurse has informed me of what’s happened, and previous events, so that’s why we’re taking things a bit further than normal. We’re gonna see if there’s any signs of a concussion or internal bleeding, but we always want Gerard to stay in overnight just in case anything happens.”

Frank swallows thickly, and he’s thankful for the comforting hand his mother places on his shoulder. Before he can answer, Gerard’s talking.

“I-I-I can’t stay the night,” he says frowning at Frank. “I don’t wanna.”

“It’ll be alright,” Frank says. “I’ll stay the night with you, you’re not gonna be left on your own.”

Gerard shakes his head, wincing at the pain at the back. “I’m not staying!” He cries, getting more and more emotional by the second.

Frank puts his hands around Gerard’s wrists, tight enough to stop him from running like Frank knows he’s going to, but not tight enough to hurt him. “Listen to me,” he looks Gerard in the eyes. “It’s going to be okay, I’m staying with you, and grandma’s here too.”

“I’ll go and get you a bag full of clothes and I’ll bring some cookies back, too,” Linda says, joining in with trying to calm Gerard down. “It’ll be fine, darling.”

Gerard’s breath is hitching and his face is damp from the odd couple of tears. “Promise you won’t leave?”

“Not even if I need a cup of coffee,” Frank jokes, pleased when he sees a smile on Gerard’s face, even if it doesn’t reach his eyes.

-

The doctor carries out some tests and scans on Gerard, all of which Gerard’s well-behaved for, which earns him ‘well done’ stickers off the nurse. By the time they’re all over and Linda is back with a bag for Gerard and Frank’s stay, they’re just waiting on a bed for Gerard.

“If you wait in the waiting room or the cafeteria, we’ll give you a call when there’s a bed available,” the doctor says. “I know for certain it won’t be a single room, but we’re hoping they’ll be room on the under 18’s ward.”

Frank nods, arm around Gerard’s shoulder whilst Gerard fiddles with the stickers on his top. “All right, thank you.”

They make their way to the cafeteria, Gerard holding onto Frank’s hand as they walk. He usually doesn’t like having to walk with Frank constantly and he isn’t a fan of holding his hand when they cross the road (‘it’s so embarrassing’), but since being told that he has to stay in overnight, Gerard hasn’t left Frank’s side, or his hand for that matter.

Thankfully the cafeteria is empty bar one or two people. Frank sits down and Gerard sits next to him without hesitation, Linda sat opposite them. “Do you want to have something to eat?” She asks Gerard.

“Yeah, but I want dad to come with me.”

Frank and Linda share a look but Frank gets up and takes Gerard over to see what food is available. There’s not much - some fried eggs that have probably been there since the morning, chips that don’t look appealing at all, and sandwiches that hold fillings Gerard doesn’t like.

“How ‘bout we try the shop downstairs?” Frank suggests. “There’s bound to be something you like down there.”

-

When they’re in the shop, Frank gets a call off Mark. He hasn’t heard off him since Gerard’s party. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Are you home at the moment?”

“No, uh,” Frank scratches the back of his head. “We’re in hospital. Gerard hit his head, they want us to stay in overnight to monitor him.”

Mark slips out of his professional act. “Shit. Is he okay?”

“There’s no concussion or signs of anything, the staying overnight is more of a caution thing, really.”

“Right right,” Mark’s voice gives away the fact that he’s worried, “Well I’m stood at your front door because it’s been nearly two months since you adopted Gerard and I’m obligated to do a check-up without giving you the heads-up,” he explains.

“And trust it to be that day that Gerard’s in hospital.”

Mark chuckles. “Don’t worry about it, really. He was a clumsy kid, we had to take him to the doctors a couple of times a week at one point because of his ankle and everything. I’ll put it down on the report that you were out, and if it’s okay with you, I’d like to come to the hospital to see Gerard.”

Frank finds it a bit weird that Mark’s asking if he can come and see Gerard. Not because he thinks it’s unprofessional or anything, but because Mark was practically Gerard’s father figure for years. “Of course it is, it’s the one just ‘round the corner from the mall. We’ll be in the cafeteria, most likely, they’re looking for a bed for Gerard but you know how long that’s probably gonna take.”

“Trust me, I know,” Mark says. “See you soon.”

“See ya.” Frank hangs up the phone.

“Can I have this?” Gerard asks, having waited until Frank was off the phone to speak. He’s holding a pot of pasta up to Frank’s face.

 _Spaghetti in a rich tomato sauce and beef meatballs_ Frank reads. “If that’s what you want, then of course you can. Get yourself a drink too.”

Frank pays for stuff with his card before he and Gerard make their way back up. “How’s your hand now?” Frank asks, carrying the bag as they climb the stairs. “Any better?”

“All good,” Gerard says and with his non-bandaged hand, he grips onto Frank’s, as if he’s about to fall.

Frank, taken back by the sudden need of Gerard needing to hold his hand, shakes his head. He’s sure there’s something going on, but he doesn’t think Gerard will tell him even if he bribes him with the promise of dying his hair on the weekend.

-

‘I haven’t seen Gerard in months,” Nathan says, sat in the car with Mark.

“He probably won’t recognise you now that you’ve grown your hair out,” Mark says, watching fondly as his husband ties his hair back into a ponytail. “And you shaved your beard.”

“Only because someone,” Nathan gives Mark a playful glare, “said they didn’t like the feel of it when I kissed them.”

“It made my chin itch,” Mark explains, even though Nathan already knows the details. “Besides, if I had to shave my moustache, your beard had to go.”

“Moustache? Please, it was like a patchy eyebrow on your upper lip.”

Mark lightly swats Nathan’s leg before pulling into a parking space. “It was hot and you know it.”

“Even Sam agrees with me, and she never agrees with me.”

“Oh I know you two never agree,” Mark gets out of the car. “I do live with you both.”

Nathan walks with him, “The only reason we all live together is because you lied and told her my hours in work were cut.”

“She needed a place to stay, we need cash,” Mark entwines his fingers with Nathan. “I’m doing us all a favour, I’m clearly a monster.”

-

The cafeteria doors open and as soon as Gerard’s eyes land on the two men, he’s up from his seat and running towards them. “Nathan!” He cries, throwing his arms around the man to hug him.

“Well someone’s grown!” Nathan smiles, rubbing Gerard’s back. “And had their hair dyed, aren’t you growing up?”

Gerard pulls back and grins. “You still have your a’ent!”

Nathan laughs, “Accent,” he corrects. “But yes, I did grow up in Texas, unfortunately I’m stuck with this accent.”

“Come meet my dad!” Gerard says excitedly, changing the subject. He takes Nathan over to the table where Frank and Linda are sat.

“You must be Frank,” Nathan says, shaking hands with Frank. “I’m Nathan, Mark’s husband.”

“Nice to meet you,” Frank smiles, watching as Nathan and Mark sit down.

“And you must be Linda, Frank’s mother,” Nathan smiles at Linda, taking her hand to kiss it, creating a blush on the woman’s face. “A pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman.”

“He’ll flirt with anything that moves,” Mark tells Frank, who laughs.

“Ew,” Gerard says, scrunching up his nose. “Don’t flirt with my grandma, that’s weird!”

“Trust me Gerard,” Linda says, “I’m not complaining.”

“Enough of my husband, and more about you,” Mark says to Gerard. “What happened to your head?”

“I hit it on the table when I was checking my shoe size,” Gerard explains. “And I was here earlier ‘cause my hand was bad!”

Mark looks at the bandage hand Gerard’s shoving in his face, before gently moving it out of the way. “Two hospital trips in one day? You’re gonna end up living in hospital, Gerard.”

Gerard stiffens momentarily, shaking his head and latching himself onto Frank’s arm. “No I’m not,” he says, the tone of his voice now sorrowful instead of the previous cheerful one that he was sporting.

Mark’s wearing the same look of confusion that Frank’s been wearing since Gerard started being clingy. “I know, it was only a joke.”

“Gerard do you want to come downstairs to the shop to get a coffee with me?” Nathan asks, already standing up.

Gerard shakes his head, clinging onto Frank’s arm even tighter. “I don’t wanna leave.”

“Gerard, I’m not going anywhere,” Frank says softly, pushing back the worry in his voice. “Go on, go with Nathan to get coffee, I’ve got some money for candy if you want it.”

Gerard moves back from Frank ever so slightly, keeping a good grip on his arm, but leaning back enough to be able to look up at his face. “Promise you’ll be here?”

“I promise.”

-

“You and your dad seem to have a good relationship,” Nathan says as he walks with Gerard. “Do you enjoy spending time with him?”

Gerard has his hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets. “Yeah, he’s the best dad ever.”

“Buys you lots of candy?”

Gerard shakes his head, “Not a lot, ‘cause he says candy isn’t meant for every meal, but I get more than I used to.”

“No other children to share it with?”

“Nope,” Gerard says, popping the ‘p’. “Just me and dad.”

“Does your grandma live nearby?” Nathan holds the door open for Gerard, stepping through after him.

“It’s a half an hour drive,” Gerard replies. “But that isn’t too far, right?”

“Right,” Nathan says. “And do you and your dad do a lot of stuff together?”

“Yeah, he takes me out on the weekends or after school, but sometimes I’m with grandma, ‘cause dad has to work.”

“Where do you go when he does take you out?”

“Shopping, hairdressers, cinema, lots of things!” Gerard says, seeming a little bit happier. “Why’d you ask so many questions?”

Nathan shrugs his shoulders, “Just interested.”

-

“Nathan’s a psychologist,” Mark says, sat across the table from Linda and Frank. “He works for an organisation who specialise in working with children who have been through trauma.”

“Both of you have such cheery jobs,” Linda jokes, and Mark smiles but shrugs.

“It fits in well. The orphanage and Nathan’s organisation work pretty close together. Nathan and I have never crossed paths with a client, but I know his colleagues pretty well for more reasons than being married to him.”

“Kinda sounds like you all have threesomes,” Frank laughs, wincing when his mother elbows him in the arm with a disapproving look.

Mark, however, just laughs. “Nothing like that, but I see why you might have thought that.”

-

When Gerard and Nathan are walking back to the cafeteria, Nathan slips back into his professional role. “I have a question for you,” he tells Gerard, getting his attention. “If you can’t answer it, it’s okay, but if you could that’d be ever better.”

Gerard pats down the sticker on his top, having moved it, before answering, “Okay. What is it?”

“You know when you were younger, and you had to stay in hospital?”

Gerard feels something in his stomach. Not butterflies, but more like worms, wriggling around inside of him and causing him a sense of great discomfort. “Yes…”

“And your parents didn’t come and see you, because of what happened?”

Gerard nods his head slowly, lip starting to tremble.

“Are you scared of Frank, your new dad, not coming to see you because something’s going to happen to him?”

Gerard nods his head. He tries to keep it in but it all becomes too much for him. He lets out a sob and drops the bag he was holding, his arms finding their way around his waist.

Nathan moves over to Gerard in order to hug him. When Gerard was younger, Nathan used to be able to scoop him up in his arms. “It’s all right, I understand,” Nathan says, his professional role having slipped away the moment Gerard started crying. “But it’s important that you know that just because you’re in hospital, it doesn’t mean that something’s going to happen to Frank,” he says, although he thinks Gerard’s far too emotional to really take anything in at the moment, if his sobs are anything to go by.

-

When Gerard walks into the cafeteria with red eyes and his breath hitching, Frank rushes up out of his seat and goes straight to him. “What’s the matter Gerard?” He asks, getting a tight hug and crying in response, so he looks to Nathan for an answer.

“I was asking him some questions about the accident trying to work out why he was acting so strangely.”

Frank’s facial features harden and he holds Gerard closer. “You can’t just ask him questions like that!” He says a little too loudly. “Are you stupid or just insensitive?”

Nathan goes to reply but Mark, who’s now stood by Frank’s side with a hand on Gerard’s shoulder speaks instead. “I love the bones of you but you know how he reacts when it’s brought up.”

Nathan rolls his eyes, “I found out why he was acting so clingy to Frank though, isn’t that a good thing?”

“He can cling to me all he wants,” Frank snaps. “I don’t care about that, all I care about is whether he’s all right or not, and look at the state he’s in now all thanks to you!”

“We’ll be on our way,” Mark says, not wanting Nathan to turn nasty and start saying things he can’t take back. “I’m really sorry this has happened,” he says to all three of them, including Linda, who’s sat at the table not sure what to do. He glares at Nathan, “Sometimes he can’t shut his mouth.”

The couple leave and although Frank’s back aches every time he does it and he promised himself he wouldn’t anymore, he picks Gerard up and just about manages to carry him over to the table. “Calm down, come on, it’s okay,” he tells him, rubbing his back as Gerard stays slumped against him. Seeing Gerard cry this much is making Frank’s eyes water. His voice breaks a little bit when he says, “No need for working yourself up.”

Gerard looks up at Frank, hiccuping as he wipes his eyes. “Why’re you crying?” He asks between hiccups.

“Because you’re crying,” Frank says, not being able but to smile at how silly that probably sounds. “It’s not a very nice thing to see.”

Gerard wipes his nose in the sleeve of his hoodie and leans into Frank. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” Frank says, rubbing Gerard’s arm. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”

A nurse walks in, “Is Gerard Way in here? There’s a bed ready for you, now.”

-

It’s a good thing that they did find a bed for Gerard, because almost as soon as he lays down in it, he’s asleep. Frank lets out a sigh of relief as he sits next to the bed, and his mother pulls him into a hug. “Hard being a parent, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Frank says. “I didn’t realise.”

“You never do.”

Frank shakes his head and pulls back. “I mean I never realised how hard it was to be a single parent,” he says. “I can’t imagine what hell you went through when you were raising me.”

“It was all worth it,” Linda promises. “I’d do it all again if I had to.”

Frank smiles and turns to look at Gerard, who’s still fast asleep, his lion stuffie, as always, held to his chest. “I’m glad you remembered that,” he says, referencing the beloved toy to his mother. “He really can’t sleep without it.”

“You used to be the same with one of your toys,” Linda says. “I think it was a puppy called-”

“Chewy,” Frank smiles. “Because Chewbacca was my favourite Star Wars character.”

Linda nods. “I know you don’t want to speak about him, and I understand that you don’t want to give him another chance, but your father really has changed.”

Frank bites down on his lip. His mother’s right, he doesn’t want to talk about his father. “If there’s one thing I’ve realised today,” he moves some hair out of Gerard’s eyes even though he’s sleeping, then faces his mother, “it’s that I’m really lucky to have you and everything you do for me. And I missed out on a dad and it sucked, and Gerard’s already lost his biological parents, it’d suck if he didn’t get to know his grandfather, even if I don’t like him.”

“So you’re saying…”

“I’m saying that I want Gerard to be surrounded by as many good, loving people as possible, especially family. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive my ‘dad’ for what he did, but Gerard doesn’t need to know about it, he deserves to see this ‘new and improved’ side of him.”

Linda smiles widely, glad that Frank’s being mature about this. “You’re the best son I could ever had.”

Frank’s smile isn’t as big as Linda’s, but it’s just as sincere. “You’re the best mom I could ever have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!! Do you like Nathan? Has your opinion on any characters changed? Let me know!


	16. Moving Forwards (And Never Looking Back)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank decides it's time to stop living in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is nearly a year old, how mad is that?!
> 
> Some quick notes before you read this chapter:
> 
> As Frank's father is also called Frank, he will be referred to as Frank Senior.
> 
> This chapter contains a lot of Amy/Frank. However, this is due to them being out in Ohio for the wedding, and because I want to show how they're getting on and such. When the wedding (which isn't included in this chapter) is over, this fanfiction will go back to revolving around Gerard and Frank, rather than Frank's developing relationship with Amy!
> 
> Anyway, as always, thank you for all the support you give me with this fanfiction!! It means so much to me!

The past week has been a bittersweet experience for Frank. Gerard gets on brilliantly with Frank’s father, and whilst it’s good that Gerard has more positive people and family in his life, Frank has a constant dread of anxiety that his father will leave randomly, hurting Gerard like he hurt Frank and his mother.

“Why can’t I come with you?” Gerard’s sat cross legged on Frank’s bed, helping him do the packing that should have been done days ago. “I’ll be good, I promise!”

“Because,” Frank folds a t-shirt, “you don’t take your kids on a date, and-”

“Hey!” Gerard exclaims, frowning. “I’m sixteen, I’m not a kid!”

“All right, well I’m not going to take my son on a date. Besides, weddings are boring.”

“Is that why you’re not married?” Gerard asks innocently enough, tugging the thread on his sweater.

“Uh, kind of,” Frank lies. He scratches his chin, “Not my thing, really.”

Gerard wants to see how far he can push it before Frank changes the subject. “Grandma said you were engaged once…” He trails off. “What happened?”

Frank folds three pairs of trousers before answering. “She ran off with someone else,” he says, coughing a few times.  “I haven’t seen her in years, doubt I’d even recognise her.”

Now sitting with his legs over the edge of the bed, Gerard speaks, “Do you still love her?”

Frank scratches the back of his head, tears welling up in his eyes. He hates how this is still a subject in which can set off so many of his emotions off, but he won’t allow himself to get angry with Gerard over his curiosity. “No,” he says finally, rubbing his eyes with the pads of his fingers. He looks at Gerard with a smile that’s obviously forced, “No, I don’t.”

Although he doesn’t quite believe his dad, Gerard lets the subject drop, and starts a new one that’s just as sensitive. “How come you haven’t seen your dad for so long?”

A breathy chuckle leaves Frank. “That’s another story for another time,” he says, ruffling Gerard’s hair. “There’s a box of cookies in the kitchen, do you want to go get them?”

Oblivious to Frank changing the subject in order to distract him, Gerard grabs his lion from the top of the bed and hurries downstairs.

With Gerard out of the room and on his way downstairs, Frank lets out a long breath. He’s sick of being so bothered by the thought of his ex-fiance and his father. He needs to move past this, like he should have done a long time ago. He needs to starts living in the present instead of the past.

___

 

“Are you sure there’s no way I can come to the wedding with you?”

Upon hearing the slight distress in Gerard’s voice, Frank sighs. He puts down the maths homework he was trying to help Gerard with, “You’ll have fun with grandma, I promise. You don’t need to worry.”

“But… What if you don’t come back?” The question is asked with Gerard looking at his lap instead of Frank, poking at a hole in his jeans.

Frank’s heart aches and he pulls Gerard into his side. “I will always come back, okay? I promise.”

“Okay,” Gerard responds quietly, leaning into Frank and rubbing his eye.

___

 

The next morning, Frank wakes up at four, has a shower and a cup of coffee, before getting Gerard out of bed. The younger male is groggy still as he sits at the table, eyes half open and hair sticking up in every possible direction. Frank chuckles softly, which only earns him a glare. “Do you want breakfast? I can fry some eggs up if you want them.”

“I want…” Gerard trails off, yawning half way through his thoughts. “I want a coffee.”

“You’ll have to eat something with it, can’t just run on coffee,” Frank replies as he fills up the coffee jug. “Do you want toast? Cereal?”

Gerard ponders on it for a couple of seconds. “Can I have pancakes?”

Frank looks at his watch. “Sure,” he says.

The two of them have pancakes, although Frank has more coffee than anything, much to Gerard’s jealousy.

“Do I have to go back to the same school in August?” Gerard asks before picking up his coffee to take a sip. “I don’t like it there.”

His school breaks up for summer soon, and Frank’s still not heard anything from the schools he’s contacted to see if there’s room for Gerard. Frank has, however, been asked to go into Gerard’s school for a meeting when he returns from Ohio.

“I don’t think so,” Frank says. Even if he hasn’t got a clue where Gerard will go, he can’t keep him in a school that doesn’t tend to his needs. It isn’t fair on him. “We’ll work something out, I promise.”

Gerard perks up. “Really? I don’t have to go back?”

Even if Frank doesn’t have a solid plan of what’s going to happen, he nods his head. “I want you to finish this semester, and we’ll try and find you a new school to start in August.’

“But, what if we can’t?”

“You leave all the worrying and the details to me,” Frank says. “I’m the parent, let me handle the stress.”

___

 

“Good morning,” Linda greets the two at the table, having let herself in with the key Frank gave her. “You ready to go?”

“Nearly, Gerard’s just got his pancake left to finish,” Frank tells her, putting his mug in the sink.

“Well don’t be too long,” Linda says. “I left your father waiting in the car.”

Frank rolls his eyes, but remember what he said to himself, that he won’t live in the past any longer. “All right, I’m sure Gerard won’t be long.”

When Gerard’s finally finished, the three of them head out to the car. Frank puts his suitcase in the trunk of the car and gets in the back with Gerard. Frank surprises everyone - even himself slightly - when he says good morning to his father.

“Good morning to the both of you,” his father replies, offering Frank and Gerard a smile from where he’s turned around in the passenger’s seat.

“Morning,” Gerard chirps, returning the smile before fastening his seatbelt.

The only sound there is whilst Linda drives is the radio, although the atmosphere isn’t as awkward as it usually is when Frank and his father are with one another.

When they pull up to Amy’s building, Frank sends her a text to say that they’re outside. It’s only a few minutes before she’s in the car with the family, her suitcase in the trunk with Frank’s. “Hey,” she says, greeting them all. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“No problem,” Linda says as she starts to drive again. “It wouldn't’ make sense for you to find your own way there, especially after inviting Frank to go to a family event.”

Amy’s cheek show a light blush, which only worsens when Frank slides his fingers between her’s. “It’s no big deal, really. I had a plus one and you know, Frank was the first person I thought of inviting,”

“Glad to know I wasn’t a back up,” Frank teases, enjoying the way Amy’s cheeks are now a crimson colour.

“Stop embarrassing her,” Linda laughs. She then introduces Amy to her ex-husband,

“Amy this is also Frank, Frank’s father.”

“Nice to meet you,” Amy says, smiling at her date’s father.

Frank senior smiles back at Amy, “The same to you.”

___

They get to the airport an hour before their flight. They aren’t able to check in with their flight yet, and so the five of them sit down and wait for the flight to be ready. Gerard’s sat next to Frank, and even though that isn’t unusual, the way Gerard’s been so quiet is causing a worry to start in Frank.

“You all right?” Frank asks, rubbing Gerard’s shoulder. “You’ve been quiet the whole way here.”

Gerard doesn’t answer properly, instead opting to lean into Frank’s side.

Amy picks up on the concern Frank has regarding Gerard, and speaks up, “I’m going to the shop to get some water, do you want to come with me Gerard?”

“I’ve got some change in my wallet if you want to get yourself something,” Frank offers him, joining in with the attempts to get Gerard’s mind off whatever’s bothering him.

Slowly but surely Gerard gets up, accepting the offer. He takes the money from Frank and goes to the shop with Amy.

“I wonder what that’s all about,” Linda ponders out loud, watching as her grandson walks away.

“I’m pretty sure he’s worried I’m not coming back,” Frank explains.

Linda lets out a pitiful sigh. “He’ll be fine whilst you’re gone,” she assures her son. “But perhaps you should get him to see a therapist? He seems to be anxious whenever he’s away from you, he could be suffering with separation anxiety.”

Although Frank doesn’t agree with his mother, he sees where she’s coming from. “It’s worth a shot I guess.”

“What about Nathan? I know last time didn’t end on good terms, but he is qualified, and he does know Gerard well enough for Gerard to trust in him.”

“Do you think I overreacted with that?” Frank asks instead of answering Linda’s question. “Was I being stupid?”

“You were being a parent, we’ve all been there; overreacting when we shouldn’t,” Linda says. She turns to Frank senior, “Remember that time that referee shouted at Frank at that soccer game and you almost got kicked off the pitch for screaming in his face?”

Frank senior chuckles, glancing over at Frank before looking back at Linda. “Yeah, I also remember when you had a go at that kid’s mother for letting her kid have a halloween party when it was Frank’s birthday party.”

Seeing his dad have such clear memories and express emotions of Frank’s childhood makes Frank feel a mix of emotions. On one hand he’s bitter that his father didn’t stick around to have more memories of his childhood; to see him start middle school or high school and go off to college. On the other hand, seeing his father like this - remember the old times and speak about them so fondly - is making Frank want to have a proper relationship with him again.

___

Amy keeps an eye on Gerard whilst she gets a drink. She’s stood in line behind two men and a teenager, Gerard over by the candy. “If you want something I’ll get it for you,” Amy says, getting Gerard’s attention. “Keep the money your dad gave you for your money box, save up for something better than candy.” She watches as Gerard gets something off the shelf, then walking over to her and shyly giving her the item.

‘Super Sour Candy - So sour you’ll never smile properly again!’ the product reads. Amy smiles at Gerard, “You like sour candy?”

Gerard shrugs. “Just wanna try it.”

“I used to love sour candy when I was a teenager,” Amy says, stepping forward as the line moves forward. “My friends and I used to have competitions on who could keep the straightest face whilst eating it.”

“That’s cool.”

Nothing’s said for a couple of minutes, until Gerard breaks the silence between the two of them. “Amy, can I ask you something?”

“Of course you can,” Amy says, wondering if Gerard’s going to tell her whatever’s been bothering her. “What’s up?”

“Well…” Gerard trails off, playing with his fingers as his eyes alternate between looking at Amy and the floor. “I need a promise from you.”

Amy’s eyebrow furrows. “What promise is that?”

“Sometimes my dad gets really sad… He doesn’t tell me exactly… But I hear him crying at night and I don’t know what it’s about. But I don’t want him to be sad… Will you look after him?” Gerard’s eyes are large, and his tone of voice and the way he’s standing shows how vulnerable he is at this moment.

Amy doesn’t know if her urge to hug Gerard or to tear up is stronger, but she does neither. Instead, she gives him a smile. “Of course I will,” she says. She sticks her pinky out and watches as Gerad wraps his around her’s.

“Thanks,” Gerard says and shoves his hands back in his pockets.

“No problem.”

Amy pays for the items before starting to walk back with Gerard. “Do you want me to open them for you?” She asks upon seeing Gerard struggling to open the pot of candy.

She’s handed the pot and opens it after her third attempt to get the lid up, handing it back to Gerard. “Trust me when I say to only eat one at a time,” she advises. “More than that and your head may explode.”

Gerard laughs, before taking one of the candies out of the pot. They’re all different coloured boiled circles, no thicker than a fingernail, covered in a layer of sugar. “You have to have one, too,” he insists, offering the pot out to Amy. “I wanna see who can keep the straightest face the longest.”

“You’re on,” Amy says, accepting the challenge and taking one of the sour candies out of the pot.

The two of them place the sugary-sour treat on their tongues, looking each other in the eye to be a judge of whose face scrunches up first. Both of them are fine for the first few seconds, but then the sourness kicks in, and Gerard’s face scrunches up and his tongue sticks out of his mouth.

Amy can’t help but laugh at him, still unphased by the sourness of her candy. “You can spit it out if you don’t like it,” she says, handing Gerard a tissue from her bag. “It isn’t for everyone.”

Gerard spits the candy out but his face remains looking disgusted, until he has an idea, that is. “Let’s tell my dad they’re normal candies and see his reaction,” he grins.

“I think you’ve been watching The Lion King too much and Scar’s evilness has rubbed off on you,” Amy teases.

“That’s not possible, you can never watch The Lion King too much!” Gerard says. “But can we do it? I wanna see if it makes his face go all funny.”

Amy nods her head. “I’ll put the candy in my bag and give him one, he doesn’t tend to ask much about what he’s offered when it comes to food.”

“Perfect!” Gerard grins. “Will you take a picture of his face, too? I wanna have proof of what he looked like.”

“I think I might just have to hire you as my partner in crime,” Amy smiles.

___

“You took your time,” Frank says when Gerard and Amy return. “Long queue?”

“Huge!” Gerard exaggerates. He sits back down, crossing his legs. “Lots of people buying lots of stuff.”

“Yeah? What were they getting?”

Gerard shrugs his shoulder. “I don’t know, I’m not nosy.”

“Is that so?” Frank asks. “So it wasn’t you I found looking through my phone the other day?”

“I was trying to play a game!” Gerard whines. “But you deleted them.”

“Only because it took up most of my memory,” Frank explains. “I’ll have to get you your own phone soon enough anyway.”

“A good one though, not one that I can’t use for games,” Gerard insists.

“Of course.”

“Frank do you want one of these candies?” Amy asks from the other side of him. “I’m not sure what they’re like, they were Nicky’s but she’s on a diet so I took them from the cupboard this morning.”

“Sure,” Frank says.

Amy gets one out of the pot in her bag and hands it to Frank. She watches as he places it in his mouth. It doesn’t take that long (maybe slightly longer than Gerard took) before Frank’s face is scrunched up in horror, gagging a few times. Gerard and Linda are laughing, and Amy takes a picture of Frank’s face before offering him a tissue.

“We got him,” Amy says with a smile at Gerard, the two of them high-fiving over Frank’s head.

Frank gives the two of them a playful glare. “Little shits,” he says, ignoring his mother’s disapproving look at his language. “I’ll get you back for that.”

___

When it’s time to board the plane, Frank gives his mother a hug before pulling - a teary eyed - Gerard into his arms. “You be good for grandma, okay?” He says softly, feeling Gerard nod against his top. “I’ll be back so quick you won’t even notice I’ve been gone,” he continues, even though his own eyes are now watering.

“You better get going, you don’t want to miss the flight,” Linda prompts gently.

Frank nods his head, stepping back and holding Gerard by the shoulders. “So quick you won’t even notice,” he repeats in a whisper, kissing Gerard’s forehead.

Gerard wipes his nose in his sleeve. “Okay,” he replies shakily. Then, hesitantly, “Love you dad.”

Frank grins, pulling Gerard in for one last quick hug. “Love you too.”

___

Whilst Linda understands it perfectly, she doesn’t like how quiet Gerard is on the drive back from the airport. She’s pushed for conversation, but nothing’s worked. It’s a Sunday, so there isn’t much to do, seeing as most people take Sundays as a day of rest or go to church.

“Do you want to go to the cinema?” Frank senior asks, looking at Gerard from the front. “I’m sure there’s something on you’ll like.”

Gerard, not interested in what’s being said, doesn’t even bothered reacting to the question. Instead he keeps looking out the window, head resting on the glass, fingertip tracing the patterns the rain is leaving on the other side.

Linda sighs, close to giving up. “There has to be something you want to do,” she says hopefully. “Give us an idea and we’ll see if we can do it.”

“Can I go see Eliza?”

Linda, happy to see Gerard actually want to do something, asks him to hand her her phone from her bag in the back. “I’ll see if she’s in.”

___

Eliza’s just as happy to see Gerard as he is to see her. Upon sight of him, she’s gripping him by the wrist and pulling him upstairs.

“Be careful!” Her mother shouts after them, before turning back to Linda. “Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee? Bring whoever it is who's waiting in the car in with you, we don’t bite.”

Linda accepts the offer. “I would love a cup of coffee. Oh and that’s Frank’s father.”

Isabella looks slightly shocked. “Father? I’ve never heard Frank talk about him.”

Linda rolls her eyes, “There’s a reason for that.”

___

“Just to let you know, my family’s a bit… Weird.” Amy twirls her hair around her finger. “My mom and dad are picking us up from the airport, they might want to get lunch before we go to the hotel.”

“That’s fine. I could eat something that’s vegetarian friendly instead of this airline shit.”

“Damn the airline for not making options specifically for Frank Iero, how dare they,” Amy jokes, giggling at the glare Frank gives her.

“Too right, do they not know how important I am?”

Amy playfully sticks her tongue out at Frank before resting her head on his shoulder. She’s more relaxed about giving and receiving affection from Frank when it isn’t around others, but isn’t completely confident still when it’s just the two of them.

Frank tucks a few pieces of hair behind Amy’s ear, cupping her cheek and rubbing his thumb against the small number of freckles located on her cheek. “Do your parents know this is a date, or do they think we’re a couple?”

“Oh god, I don’t even know,” Amy groans. “I just said I was bringing you, but knowing my luck, they’ll think we’re a couple.”

“Hey, you’d be lucky to be dating me,” Frank teases.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Amy says in a voice so high it almost comes out as a squeak. “I just meant that we aren’t dating, and then my parents will think we are and make it awkward and oh god I don’t want it to be awkward!”

“Amy, relax,” Frank says softly, holding Amy’s wrists and looking her in the eye. “I was only joking. Besides, this is a date, it could lead to more.”

Amy looks at Frank in a almost state of shock. “Really? But what about…”

“Jamia?” Frank asks, getting a nod off Amy. “I’ve got to move on, the longer I deny myself relationships the longer I hold onto the past, and that’s never good.”

“So, you and me…?” Amy points her finger between the two of them. “We’re…?”

“Dating, I guess,” Frank says. “You know, I like you, you like me, I don’t see why we shouldn’t give it a go.”

“And you’re sure you’re ready for this?” Amy chews on the skin of her thumb.

Frank smiles at Amy’s concern. “I wouldn’t be suggesting it if I didn’t think I was.” He leans over to press a kiss to Amy’s cheek. “Are you all right with it?”

“Yes!” Amy answers a little too enthusiastically, then bashfully hiding her face in her hands.

With one arm, Frank pulls Amy closer. “Was that a yes? I couldn’t tell.”

Amy hits Frank’s leg lightly. “Don’t be an ass.”

Frank simply presses a kiss to Amy’s head. He thinks this is going to be the start of something good.

___

When they land, the two of them collect their luggage before going to get picked up. Frank notices how nervous Amy looks, and so grips ahold of her hand. “You okay?”

Amy flinches slightly at being brought out of her thoughts. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Just nervous, I haven’t seen my parents in a couple of months.”

“I think I see them,” Frank comments, pointing over at a couple.

Amy looks over to see her parents, and blushes heavily. Her parents are holding big signs that read ‘Welcome to the family, Frank Iero!’. “I’m so sorry, god, I didn’t even-”

Frank cuts her off. “It’s sweet. Besides, I want to see if they can pronounce my name right as well as just spell it,” he says, before they start to walk over.

Amy’s dad is a tall man with white-grey hair and a slender build. Her mom is much smaller than him, with piercing blue eyes and blonde hair swept back into a ponytail. Her mom pulls Amy into a hug, and Frank goes to shake hands with her father, only to be pulled into a hug as well.

“Frank, great to meet you! I’m Dave, and this is my wife Lynn.”

“Great to meet you both,” Frank says, hugging Amy’s mom before stepping back by Amy. “And thank you for picking us up.”

“Well we wouldn’t have you catch a taxi, the service round here is awful!” Dave jokes before letting out a roar of a laugh.

Lynn rolls her eyes at her husband’s antics. “Oh ignore him, he thinks he’s America’s next big comedian.”

___

“We have a surprise to tell you,” Lynn says with a wide smile, looking at her daughter and Frank in the rearview mirror.

Amy feels her stomach drop. “What have you done?”

“Don’t be so negative,” Lynn tuts. “We just thought that since you’re only here for a few days, it’d be better for the both of you to stay with us.”

“You don’t need to do that…” Amy’s trying not to be mad. “Sophia’s fiance paid for everyone’s room.”

“We got him to cancel your and Frank’s,” Dave explains. “Now you can spend more time with us, isn’t that great?”

“Yeah, but-”

“It’s fine by me,” Frank says, resting his hand on Amy’s knee and giving her a smile. “I don’t mind, really.”

Amy sighs whilst looking at him. “Are you sure?”

“Doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”

“Well it’s settled then, you’ll be staying with us!” Lynn says happily.

 _Like we ever had a choice_ , Amy thinks.

___

Frank smiles at the happiness in Gerard’s voice when they’re on the phone to one another. “Hey Gerard, you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m at Eliza’s house!” Gerard sits next to Eliza on the floor, legs crossed.

“That sounds good, is grandma with you?”

Gerard hums. “And your dad’s here.”

“You can call my dad your grandpa, that is what he is.”

Gerard thinks about it. “Maybe.”

“Choice is yours,” Frank says. “Anyway, are you having fun with Eliza?”

“Yeah! We’re watching a movie.”

“Oh that sounds fun. Want me to leave you to it?”

“Yeah, it’s getting to the good part! Bye dad!” Gerard says and hands the phone back to Linda, who’s standing by the door.

Linda puts the phone to her ear and walks out of the bedroom. “So you’re staying at Amy’s parents?” She asks, continuing the conversation they were having before she gave Gerard the phone. “How’d that happen?”

“They cancelled the room we were supposed to be staying it, and now we’re staying at their’s. Amy doesn’t seem to happy, but it doesn’t bother me.”

“Would you be happy if i cancelled your hotel room and had you and Amy stay at mine without consulting you first?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“If you were cooking for us,” Frank says, grinning when he hears his mother huffing.

“I’ll call you later, have fun.”

“Bye mom, keep me updated on Gerard.”

After the phone call, Frank returns back into the house. Amy’s parents have an amazing house - a large backyard, six bedrooms (all en suit), three living rooms, a kitchen at least twice the size of Frank’s. It’s apparent to Frank that Amy comes from a wealthy background, but she’s never mentioned it before, and he can’t help but be curious as to why.

Frank and Amy are staying in one of the guest rooms, which is bigger than Frank’s own bedroom back in his own house. It’s complete with a small balcony, and Frank would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous.

“Mom ran out to the grocery store and dad’s upstairs on the phone,” Amy says when she sees Frank enter the kitchen. “How’s Gerard? Any better?”

“He’s watching some film with Eliza, that always puts him in a good mood.” Frank sits on the stool stood in front of the kitchen island. “How’re you feeling? I know you didn’t want to stay with your parents.”

“That obvious?” Amy laughs, resting her cheek in her hand. “I love them to bits, but I don’t like them doing everything for me. I like having independence and some space to myself, you know? That’s why I moved away for college, to grow as a person and all that.”

“You sound like a mature teenager who’s having a rebellious phase,” Frank comments.

Amy rolls her eyes, poking Frank in the ribs. “You know what I mean.” She walks over to the refrigerator to get a bottle of water. “Do you want some water?”

Frank denies the offer. “Are we doing anything tonight? Is there a wedding rehearsal dinner?”

“No, they’re just doing the wedding tomorrow and the wedding reception.” Amy sits back down at the kitchen island. “Mom and dad will want to go out for food though, that’s a certain seeing as we didn’t stop for lunch.” She opens the bottle of water and takes a sip. “Probably go to Martin’s, it was my favourite restaurant growing up.”

Frank reaches for Amy’s hand, running the pad of his thumb over her wrist. “Yeah? Why’s that?

“Everyone who worked there was friendly and the food was lovely,” Amy explains. “We used to go there once a month, sometimes more if it was a special occasion. I remember they used to do these huge ice creams and if you could eat it in under half an hour, you’d get it for free and a vouch for half price on your next bill.”

“We always used to go to the cinema on special occasions,” Frank replies. “Mum’s birthday would mean a chick-flick or comedy, mine would mean a horror film. It worked out pretty well too, seeing as my birthday was on halloween; all the horror films would be playing, sometimes there were marathons. As for ice cream, dairy doesn’t always agree with my stomach so I avoid it.”

Amy’s fingertip runs over Frank’s hand. “That sounds great -- the cinema, not the dairy problem.” They both chuckle briefly. “We never really went to the cinema much. Dad had a friend who owned a cinema, though. He would give us copies of the latest films on videos and we’d have people round to watch them, like our own little screenings.”

“Wow,” Frank says, slightly in awe. “That sounds amazing.”

“It was,” Amy smiles. “As much as I love being my own person, I’ll never forget my upbringing and all the memories I have with my parents. They made me who I am, you know?”

“I understand that perfectly.”

__

Even after talking to Frank on the phone and two stories, Gerard doesn’t want to go to sleep. He’s not restless, it’s more that he’s being stubborn and seeing if he can stay up later than usual. Linda isn’t having it though, and she’s set on getting Gerard to sleep without ringing Frank for help.

“Try and get to sleep,” she says, getting up from Gerard’s bed and briefly running her fingers through his hair. “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

Gerard lets out a sigh, but pulls the duvets closer to him. “Okay,” he mumbles. “Goodnight grandma.”

Once downstairs, Linda goes into the kitchen to make herself dinner. Frank senior’s staying the night at his own house due to having work in the morning, which whilst responsible, makes Linda feel quite lonely. She knows it’s not going to be easy to have a relationship with him when their son isn’t fully accepting of it, but she’s going to give it a go.

___

Amy’s love for Martin’s is completely understandable. The restaurant is located five minutes up from the beach, the staff are lovely, the food is great and there’s a variety of dietary needs, and there’s live music being played - tonight a woman playing the piano whilst another woman sang.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what made you want to adopt a child instead of have a biological one?” Dave asks.

“Dave,” Lynn hisses.

“I’ve always wanted kids,” Frank starts. “It doesn’t make a difference to me whether they’re biologically related to me or not. My ex-fiance and I were trying for kids for a while, but we weren’t successful, and when she ran off with someone else I decided I’d adopt.”

“Do you think you would have adopted if your fiance stayed with you?”

“Dad…”

“It’s all right, people always ask questions about Gerard anyway,” Frank assures Amy, then looking back at Dave. “Yeah, definitely. We discussed it once or twice, but nothing ever came of it, which is probably for the best considering she ran off.”

Dave raises an eyebrow. “She ran off? Gosh, I had no idea! I’m sorry if it’s a sore subject for you.”

“It is, but I’m getting over it,” Frank says honestly. “Besides, I’m moving on.” He turns his head to smile at Amy, squeezing her hand when she blushes.

Dave and Lynn are smiling as well. “You two are such a lovely couple,” Lynn compliments.

Frank’s cheeks are not also red, but he thanks her for the compliment. “I’m lucky to have someone as great as your daughter in my life.”

After dinner, Lynn and Dave head back home but Amy takes Frank to the beach. She takes her shoes off and wraps her arm around Frank’s as they walk by the shore. “Did you really mean it?” She looks up at Frank. “Are you happy to have me in your life?”

“I meant every word of what I said.” Frank looks down at Amy, pecking her lips.

Amy leans into him. “I’m glad to have you in my life as well.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell.”

Amy shakes her head. “Why do you have to go and ruin cute moments?”

Frank stops in his tracks and leans down to kiss Amy’s lips. He cups her face as she kisses him back, sliding them down to her neck as she deepens the kiss with her tongue. Her arms wrap around his waist and Frank let’s out a small moan, before pulling back and smirking at Amy. “Does that make up for it?”

“No, because now you just ruined a perfectly good make-out session,” Amy pouts.

With a roll of his eyes, Frank lets out a huff of air. He pushes their lips back together and pulls Amy closer to his body. Their tongues are in each other’s mouth within seconds, and Amy snakes her hands up Frank’s top. Frank follows suit but slides his hands up Amy’s skirt, resting his hands on her bum. He takes a step forward and when Amy doesn’t take a step back, they fall to the sand together.

This doesn’t stop them, though. The two of them continue making out, the situation getting hotter and hotter by the moment. Amy starts unbuttoning Frank’s shirt as he kisses her neck. She gets to the middle button before Frank’s phone starts ringing, making them both jump and bringing them back into reality.

Frank’s quick to sit up and answer his phone. “Hello?” He rushes out, slightly out of breath.

“Hey Frank.” It’s Linda. “Gerard’s a bit shaken up after a nightmare, I’m going to put him on.”

Frank feels a pang of guilt inside him when he hears Gerard’s voice. He’s been crying for certain and he can’t quite catch his breath. “Hey, it’s okay,” Frank says softly, trying to calm Gerard down. “It was only a bad dream, remember?

Gerard sniffles. “But-bu-but it was so real.” He’s on the edge of crying again.

The pang of guilt grows bigger inside Frank. “I know, but Gerard take a deep breath for me.” He waits until Gerard’s taken a few deep breaths. “There we go, you’re doing great. Now, can you tell me the one good thing about nightmares?”

Gerard breaths in and out a few times before giving an answer. “They aren’t real.”

“Exactly. They can’t hurt you because they aren’t real. And I would never let anything hurt you, okay?”

“Okay,” Gerard says quietly, calming down. “Sorry if I ruined your date.”

Frank chuckles. “You didn’t ruin it, silly. You come before anyone else. Now try and get back to sleep, think you can do that for me?”

“I can try.” Gerard sniffles. “Bye dad,” he says and hands Linda the phone.

“I don’t think I’ve been that scared in a long time,” Linda tells her son as Gerard makes his way to the lounge. “I haven’t heard him cry like _that_ before.”

“Nightmares tend to take it out of him,” Frank explains. “Give him some hot tea and put a film on for him, that usually sends him off to sleep. If that doesn’t work then give me another ring and I’ll tell him a story.”

“Good idea. Does he have the film on in his bedroom or the living room?”

“Bedroom, you won’t be able to carry him up if he falls asleep,” Frank answers. “Keep me updated and tell me if you need anything.”

“Got it, bye love.”

Frank says goodbye before sliding his phone back in his pocket. “Sorry about that,” he lays next to Amy, “Gerard had a bad dream.”

Amy shakes her head, rolling onto her stomach to face Frank. “He comes first, it’s only right,” she says. She opens her mouth to speak but closes it.

“What were you gonna say?” Frank asks, propping himself up on his elbows. “Go on.”

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say.”

“What’s it concern?”

“It’s just something Gerard told me earlier. Well, what he asked me.”

“What did he ask?”

Frank’s face is a mix of concern and curiosity, and Amy knows she has no right denying him information about his own son. “He asked me to take care of you.”

Frank’s eyebrow furrows. “What? Why?”

“He said he hears you crying sometimes at night but he doesn’t know why. He asked me to make sure you’re all right.”

“I don’t know if I should feel guilty or proud,” Frank says with a small laugh. “There’s two reasons I cry at night. One is because of the situation with my dad, it’s just… I don’t know, I’m still not comfortable with him being around at the moment, but I’m trying to get used to it and get on with him. The other reason is, well... It’s a bit embarrassing.”

Amy’s interest increases. “Come on, tell me.”

“I tend to watch films before bed... And they always make me cry.”

“Sad films?”

“Uh…” Frank’s cheeks go red. “No, uh, they’re romantics…”

“Oh, my gosh,” Amy says, starting to grin. “You cry over romantic films? That’s so precious!”

“That’s so patronising,” Frank cringes. “Some of the characters just deserve happiness and when they get it I feel happy for them, is that so bad?”

“Not bad, just absolutely precious.”

“Shut up,” Frank says playfully.

___

When Frank returns from the bathroom, Amy’s already half asleep on her side of the bed. Frank turns the light off before tiptoeing into bed, checking his phone briefly. His mother’s text him.

_Forgot to text you, Gerard went to sleep half an hour after the phone call with you. Seemed okay after watching some of Mary Poppins. Hope you’re having fun xx_

Frank sends her a quick reply before putting his phone on the bedside table. He rolls over so he’s facing Amy’s back and wraps an arm around her waist.

Amy makes a quiet sound. “G’night,” she mumbles.

Frank moves her hair from her shoulder so he can press a kiss to it. “Goodnight Amy.”


	17. Candour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be posted so much sooner than tonight, but due to some issues that came up (including writer's block), I haven't been able to upload anything until now! I hope you enjoy!

After a shower and speaking on the phone with Gerard, Frank heads out to the back porch. It looks over the garden, a large grassy area with tall trees and hedges that are neatly trimmed decorating the perimeter. A few sweat beads run down Frank’s stubble covered chin and jaw as he takes his place at the table, the sun shining above. 

Amy looks at Frank, sliding her sunglasses up to sit on top of her head and giving him a smile. “How’s Gerard? Any better than last night?”

“He doesn’t want to go to school, but that’s normal,” Frank tells her, sighing as he wipes the sweat off his face. “He never wants to go.”

Amy shakes her head, “That’s not right.” She frowns, rubbing Frank’s lower arm. “Have you not heard anything back from the schools?”

“Nothing at the moment,” Frank tucks a piece of hair behind Amy’s ear and gives her a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

Without another word spoken, Amy pulls Frank into a hug. She doesn’t know how to comfort him about something she honestly knows almost nothing about, but she hopes this hug is comforting in some way at least.

“Hope we aren’t interrupting anything.”

The two are quick to pull apart, seeing Amy’s parents are emerging from the back door to join them. David’s holding a tray of food whilst Lynn is carrying a jug of apple juice, all of which is put down at the table. Once they’re sat down with their daughter and Frank, all of them start to help themselves to what’s on offer.

“How long have you been a vegetarian for?” David asks, looking at Frank. “Are your parents vegetarians?”

It’s intriguing to Frank how many questions David asks and how much he wants to know, but he doesn’t mind. He’s getting on well with both of Amy’s parents and that’s much better than being disapproved by them.“Since I was eight.” Frank starts buttering his toast, “My parents aren’t no.”

“So what made you become a vegetarian then?” David asks as Lynn and Amy start having their own conversation.

“I have an intolerance to meat, basically,” Frank says. “It’s no big deal, I can’t even remember how meat tastes.”

David chuckles at that and Frank can’t help but laugh either. He’s glad that he’s been welcomed so warmly by Amy’s parents, even though he and Amy weren’t meant to be staying with them. He’s had his share of not getting on with family members of his girlfriends in the past, and he’s very keen on the idea of never going down that road again.

Frank’s phone rings from his pocket just as he’s about to speak. He excuses himself from the table and steps into the house.

Lynn waits until she’s sure Frank is out of earshot to speak. “He is definitely my favourite out of all your boyfriends.”

Amy rolls her eyes but smiles. “Yeah, mine too.”

“How old did you say he was again?”

“Thirty-five,” Amy answers, biting into her toast.

“Just over ten years between you, that’s not so bad,” Lynn says. “You always have had a thing for older men.”

Amy just about stops herself from spitting out her apple juice. “Mom!” She says, cheeks bright red with embarrassment.

“What? I’m just telling the truth!”

Frank rejoins them a few minutes later, the happy aura he was previously presenting completely gone.

“Everything okay?” Amy asks, seeing the stressed look on his face.

“Just my dad,” Frank says with a tight smile, brushing it off the best that he can. “Nothing to worry about.”

After breakfast Amy goes upstairs to shower, but Frank stays downstairs to help her parents with the dishes. The mood the phone call with his father left him in is slowly slipping away, and he’s glad to have a distraction from it.

“Gerard’s school must be coming close to finishing for summer,” Lynn says, making conversation. “Is he excited?”

Frank nods his head. “He’s more than ready to leave school,” he dries a dish before handing it to David. “The school he’s in doesn’t have classes especially for people with additional needs, so he goes to the mainstream classes but he’s struggling.”

Lynn frowns, “Well that’s not right. Are you looking for other schools for him?”

“I’ve rung a few but none have gotten back to me, but I’m hoping they will soon.”

“I’m sure they will,” David says confidently. “This is the time of year that people apply to get into schools, there’s probably open days coming up soon and they’ll invite you to them.”

“That’s a good point,” Frank admits. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

“We had to wait weeks to hear off any of the schools we applied Amy to go to,” Lynn points out. “A few of them were boarding schools, but she didn’t want to be away from home that much.”

“I take it the boarding schools were far away, then?”

“The closest was two hours away.” David moves to put some cups away.

“But enough about Amy, how’re you finding it - being a parent?” Lynn asks.

“Harder than I thought it would be,” Frank confesses. “But me and Gerard have a great bond and any issues that arise I try to sort out as soon as I can.”

“Like any good parent tries to do,” David smiles, patting Frank’s back.

Frank returns the smile. Whilst he’s received many compliments over the years, being told he’s a good parent will always be his favourite.

___

“All I’m saying is that I don’t think he’s very fond of me,” Frank senior says as he and Linda walk out of the house.

Linda locks the front door. “It takes him a while to warm up to people, stop worrying. 

“Wouldn’t you be worried if your only grandchild didn’t seem to like you?”

‘Yes, but that isn’t the case here,” Linda points out. “Just relax and let him get to know you. If I’m honest, I don’t think you’ve tried very hard with him you didn’t even say good morning.”

Frank senior scratches the back of his neck. “I suppose you’re right…”

After dropping Gerard off at school, Linda and Frank senior go to the supermarket. They make small talk as they go around the store, stopping occasionally to add items into the cart. They turn the corner and as they do Linda sees Mark coming up from the other end of the aisle. “Mark!” She says loudly, trying to get his attention.

Mark looks in Linda’s direction. “Hey,” he says friendly, walking over to her.

“I wanted to apologise on behalf of him for how he was to your husband at the hospital,” Linda starts, “he overreacted but he didn’t mean to.”

“Happens to the best of us,” Mark says. “I’m glad he isn’t holding a grudge about it, though he doesn’t seem the type to hold anything against anyone.”

Linda lightly kicks Frank senior in the shin when he scoffs at the statement. “Yeah… Oh, also, I was wondering if Nathan would speak to Gerard again. I know how it went last time, but I’m worried about him.”

‘Is everything okay?” Mark asks worriedly. “Do _I_ need to be concerned?”

“I’m just concerned that he has some form of separation anxiety,” Linda tells him, starting to pick at her nails. “He’s extremely attached to Frank and he gets upset and anxious that Frank isn’t coming back when he’s gone for a long period of time. I don’t know whether it’s healthy or not.”

“Gerard’s always been one to get attached to people quickly, so I’m sure it isn’t anything to worry about. But I’ll speak to Nathan and get in touch with you.”

“Thank you,” Linda smiles.

Mark shakes his head, “No worries.”

___

Frank’s jaw drops as soon as he sees Amy in her dress. It’s short and tight fitting, and Frank doesn’t understand how fabrics sewn together can make Amy look so attractive. “Wow...” he trails off, looking Amy up and down before his eyes resting on her face “You look amazing.”

Amy blushes. “Really?”

“You look great.” He stands up to hold Amy’s waist and leans in to kiss her, only to get a hand on his face.

“I just spent two hours doing my makeup, you can wait to kiss me,” Amy laughs, moving her hand away and going to her suitcase.

Frank rolls his eyes, slipping his shoes on. “Where did you say the reception is?”

Amy stands on one leg as she puts a high heel on the other, one hand on the window sill for support. “It’s at a hotel about half an hour away from here.” She puts her other heel on and walks to Frank, grinning at the obvious height difference now between them. 

“This isn’t fair,” Frank huffs. He takes Amy’s hand, “It’s only you and Gerard that I’m taller than.”

“Give it a few years and Gerard’ll be taller than you,” Amy points out, giggling at Frank’s glare.

Frank rolls his eyes. “You’re lucky you’re adorable,” he mumbles.

___

Linda’s sat at the kitchen table when Gerard comes in. She lightly nudges Frank senior’s arm and subtly nods her head over to Gerard.

“Have a good day at school?” Frank senior asks, getting the hint. “Do anything exciting?”

Gerard shakes his head as he opens the fridge. He looks at Linda, “Can I have some cake?”

“Not before your tea,” Linda tells him, getting a groan in response. “If you’re good then maybe we’ll get take out when we get back from the cinema.”

“But that’ll be ages away!” Gerard whines. _‘Please_ can I have some cake?” He asks, trying his best pout with her.

“Surely a little piece won’t hurt,” Frank senior says to Linda.

“I’m sorry but your dad has rules and you have to follow them whether he’s here or not,” Linda says, not giving in even when Gerard huffs and closes the fridge door just a bit too hard. “I’ve said no and that’s it.”

Gerard huffs again and storms upstairs, banging his feet on purpose as he walks.

Linda turns to Frank senior. “I know you’re trying, but don’t go against the rules Frank’s set, because then it makes him - or myself in this situation - look like the bad guy.”

Frank senior puts his hands up, mocking defence. “All right all right, I’m sorry.”

___

 

“The cinema? That sounds cool, what’re you going to watch?” Frank’s on the phone with Gerard, stood outside whilst everyone else is inside. He puts his finger in one ear when he can’t hear Gerard momentarily over the noise. “You’re not sure yet? Ahh you’re gonna have a look when you get there, I see.”

It’s still warm outside despite the sun being hidden by clouds. There was a lot of people at the wedding, and even more have turned up to the reception. He’s yet to personally congratulate the newlyweds on their marriage, but he’s sure he’ll get a chance at some point.

“Yeah you can take some of your pocket money, not all of it though, okay? You’ve got to keep some of it back if you want to buy Eliza that- what was it again? Oh the build-a-bear voucher, that’s right.” Frank hears footsteps behind him, turning to see Amy. He listens to Gerard on the phone but also extends his arm, wrapping it around Amy. “Is that grandma shouting in the background? Do you need to get going? Okay have a good time.”

Amy waits until Frank’s hung up before she speaks. “Ready to come back in? They’re just about to do the speeches.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, Gerard was just telling me about going to the cinema.”

Amy shakes her head and kisses Frank’s cheek. “You don’t need to apologise about talking to your son,” she says, leading them back inside.

Frank stops them in their tracks and plants a kiss on Amy’s lips. He pulls away and laughs at her confused expression.

“What was that for?” She asks.

Frank shrugs, “Because I can and I want to.”

___

Gerard has to go on his tiptoes in order to reach his piggy bank. He wraps his hands around it and puts it on the bed. He takes the bottom off and shakes the china pot to get the money out, frowning when nothing comes out. He turns it upside down and looks inside, his frown worsening when he realises there’s nothing inside it. Convinced that he had money left in there, he takes it downstairs.

“Gerard will you please hurry up?” Linda asks, stood at the bottom of the stairs. “We’re already running late.”

“Someone took my money,” Gerard says sadly, holding his money box out. “I had bills in there and now they’re gone!”

Linda takes the object from Gerard and inspects it. She sees something at the bottom and fishes it out. It’s a note. “I owe you,” she reads outloud. “Your dad must have borrowed it.”

“No he didn’t,” Gerard says confidently, shaking his head. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“We all ready to go?” Frank senior asks, walking into the hall.

“Yeah,” Linda tells him, turning to look at Gerard, “We’ll figure it out after the movie, I promise."

Gerard sighs, “Okay.”

___

By nine o’clock, Amy’s drunk and Frank himself is quite tipsy. He hasn’t heard off Gerard since the previous phone call about going to the cinema, so he’s assuming that he fell asleep on the way back home and went straight to bed. As of right now, Frank’s sat between Amy and one of her cousins, Carys. Carys has long black hair that’s in loose curls, and from the way her speech is slurred and how little of it Frank understands, she’s more drunk than Amy is. The two of them are speaking about something Frank’s only half interested in, but they suddenly scream when a new song is played.

“It’s our song!” Carys is saying excitedly, standing up and kicking off her shoes. “Come on!”

Amy’s soon to follow suit, taking her shoes off and putting them in Frank’s lap. Carys grabs her by the hand to drag her onto the dance floor.

Frank watches as they throw their hands up in the air and twirl around, Amy nearly falling to the floor when she spins too fast. 

“Have you had a chance to meet the bride and groom?”

Frank turns his head to see Lynn. He answers with a nod of his head, “We spoke to them about an hour ago.” He takes a sip of his drink. “They seem like lovely people.’

“They are. Dorothy is David’s sister. She met William a few years back, first time she’s been married, third time he has.”

Not really knowing how to respond to that, Frank simply nods his head again. “Do you have you any brothers or sisters?” He asks eventually.

“Two older sisters and a little brother. Daisy and Louis are living in New York, Trixie is living in Alabama.”

“I always wanted siblings when I was growing up,” Frank says. “Practically begged my parents to have another child.”

“I don’t think I can imagine what it would be like to be an only child.”

“A little lonely,” Frank says. “But it was just me and my mom after dad left anyway, so I was more than happy to have all her attention.”

“Well he missed out on seeing you grow up, and your mom did a great job at that.”

Frank gives her a smile. He opens his mouth to tell her that his dad is now back in the picture, but decides against it. “Thanks,” he says instead.

___

Gerard lays in bed, curled up under the covers, eyes half shut already. He’s the human embodiment of comfortable; his bed is warm and his pyjamas are soft, helping him be lulled to sleep. He’s just dropping off, his head pressed into the pillow and eyes fluttering shut, when all of a sudden there’s a loud roar from downstairs. Gerard’s eyes snap open and he sits up so quickly that Iggy makes his way over from the bottom of the bed to Gerard. The shouting from downstairs worsens, seeming to turn into an argument. “Come on Iggy,” Gerard mumbles, picking the cat up and walking out to the landing. He takes a seat at the top of the stairs, letting Iggy rest in his lap.

 _“You can’t expect us to! It isn’t fair on us”_ Is the first sentence Gerard hears properly. There are other things being said but they’re loud and full of rage, and Gerard has to strain his ears just to work out small chunks of sentences.

Iggy stands up in Gerard’s lap and stretches before padding downstairs, much to Gerard’s irritation. He stands up and chases his pet, only stopping so when he gets downstairs and the argument is so loud that it starts hurting his ear. He makes a face and covers his ears, which is when he realises he’s lost sight of Iggy. He looks around quickly and sees him walking towards the front door, which is always an indication that he wants to go out.

He opens the door for Iggy, closing the door once he’s out. When Gerard turns around, he jumps slightly when he sees his grandmother stood behind him. Her cheeks are red and so are her eyes, a few tears cascading down her face. “I was just-”

“Go up to bed,” Linda says, sighing and putting her hand on Gerard’s shoulder. She leads him to the stairs, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Gerard huffs and walks upstairs, feeling upset that he didn’t even get to explain why he was downstairs in the first place. He gets into bed and pulls the covers over himself, sniffling a few times. He can’t wait for his dad to come home.

___

Frank shouldn’t be laughing. He knows he shouldn’t be laughing at this, but he can’t help it. Amy’s on the floor, kneeling next to the burger she dropped, refusing to move even though the ground is hard and digging into her bare skin. “Come on,” Frank chuckles, crouching down. “I’ll buy you another burger, but you have to get up.”

“But it was such a good burger!” Amy cries, leaning her head on Frank’s chest. “So young!”

With a roll of his eyes, Frank stands up and pulls Amy up with her. He pushes her hair behind her ears, wipes the mascara off her cheeks, and kisses the tip of her nose. “There are more burgers out there,” he takes her by the hand and kisses the back of it, “I promise.”

They end up sitting on the same beach they were at last night. Frank stayed true to what he said and bought Amy another burger, buying some fries for himself. Frank’s sat with his hands pressed into the sand for support, Amy curled up next to him. It’s colder than earlier so Frank’s insisted Amy keeps his jacket on. “I think this burger is better than the last one,” Amy says, sauce around her mouth. “I love it.”

“I’m glad you’re emotionally attached to it,” Frank says. He checks his watch, surprised that it’s only just gone midnight. “What time is our flight to go home?”

“Some time in the evening,” Amy says nonchalantly.  She grabs a handful of fries from the bag in Frank’s lap. “Why? Are you not in enjoying?”

“Of course I am,” Frank assures her. He pulls her closer and rubs her side. “I’m enjoying myself even more than you’re enjoying that burger.”

“Now that’s impossible,” Amy giggles. “Because this burger is the best thing ever.”

They sit and make small chat for a while, talking about things that don’t really matter but are interesting to talk about nevertheless. The tide has come in but there’s still a fair bit of distance between the couple and the water, giving them some time before they need to move.

Amy looks up at Frank, “Can I ask you a question? Something really personal?”

“Sure,” Frank shrugs. “Go for it.”

Amy looks Frank in the eye when she speaks. “I know Jamia went off with another man… But do you think there was a reason why?”

Frank lets out a breath. It’s a question he’s though about many times. “There’s a few things I can think of,” he says honesty. “Why’d you ask?”

“I was just curious as to why someone would leave someone as great as you,” Amy says, smiling when Frank kisses her forehead.

“You’re so precious,” Frank says. “You’re also pretty drunk, don’t you think we should be getting back?”

Amy shakes her head and cuddles into Frank. “Not quite yet… I want to stay here a little longer.”

And so that’s exactly what they do.

___

Frank lays Amy down in bed, making sure her head is on the pillow. He takes her shoes off, putting them by her suitcase. He goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth and when he goes back into the room, he’s shocked to say the least. Amy’s gotten out of bed, stripped off all her clothes, and stood with her hands on her hips. “Do I have a nice figure?" 

“It’s wonderful,” Frank walks over to her and guides her back to bed. “But it’s late and you’re somehow still drunk, so let’s sleep, okay?”

Amy whines as Frank helps her back into bed. “You’re so boring, I don’t want to go to bed.”

Frank doesn’t answer, instead putting the sheets over her. He slips off his clothes and leaves them on the floor, then getting into bed with her. He watches as Amy turns over, goes to say something, but yawns instead. Frank moves his hand to hold Amy’s under the sheets, slightly concerned by how cold she is. “You’re freezing, come here.” He pulls her closer and lets her entangle their legs together, moving his head so she can tuck her’s under his chin.

Within seconds the both of them are fast asleep, curled up together, happiest they’ve been all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to hear what you guys think of this chapter and the characters and such, feedback really helps inspire and motivate me to write, and I love hearing what you guys think and your opinion and views of things!


	18. Coming to our senses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO I AM BACK!
> 
> So a few things I want to talk about:
> 
> 1\. I finally worked out how I'm going to end this story and how many chapters are left until I do so. I've reimagined the ending so many times but I'm finally happy with how it's going to play out! It's really weird knowing that this is coming to an end. I've been writing this for over a year and like... wow!! Putting the amount of chapters left is so weird as well? Ahh I don't know, I'm just so emotionally attached to this fic and characters it'll be weird not to write it anymore.  
> 2\. This chapter was a lot longer but it works out better at the length I'm posting it. I'm finding myself writing long chapters and making them shorter, or writing a chapter with the intention of it being short but then making it long. It's annoying but I guess that's how I work best *shrug emoji*  
> 3\. I'm really sorry about these slow updates! I will try to upload faster, I promise!

Linda sits in the parking lot of the school, watching Gerard walk towards the entrance. His head is lowered, his shoulders slumped forward, and only one strap of his backpack is over his shoulder. It kills her to see him so sad and lonely amongst various friend groups, all smiling and laughing, but she couldn’t let him stay home. She has to force herself not to call him back to the car and take him home just as he gets to the entrance. She instead starts up the engine and drives away.

As it’s still a few hours before she needs to collect Frank and Amy from the airport, she goes to a cafe in order to try and get her thoughts in order. The cafe is just what she needs - a peaceful environment with barely anyone present. Linda takes a seat in the corner of the room and sits with her head in her hands. The amount of stress she has right now is ridiculous, and as much as she loves her family, she’s glad to have some time on her own.

She takes a sip of her coffee, closing her eyes and sighs. She takes a few more sips before she realises her phone is ringing from her pocket. She looks at the caller ID and smiles when she sees it’s one of her close friends, Saidi. She picks up the phone without hesitation, “Hello Saidi.”

“Hello,” Linda can hear the smile in her voice, and it’s almost enough to lift her spirits completely. “Are you free right now? I finally have some time off work, I thought it might be nice to have a catch up, it’s been too long.”

“I’m in the city, your company would be excellent,” Linda tells her. “I’m in Zinna’s, you know the cafe, right?”

“It’s the one next to the florist, right? “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Saidi is true to her word, accompanying Linda shortly after the phone call. They greet with a hug and then dive into conversation. “So, first thing, how’s this grandson of yours that I’ve heard so much about?”

“Gerard’s good,” Linda confirms with a nod of her head. “A bit low at the moment, but he’s good.”

“Low? Why’s that?” Saidi thanks the waitress when she brings her drink over. “Is he okay?”

“To cut a long story short,” Linda starts, “he didn’t want to go to school - but that’s nothing new - and he’s missing Frank, he and his… well, friend, girlfriend, whatever she is to him, have gone away for a few days.”

Saidi wraps her hands around the hot mug. “I see. When’s Frank due home?”

“I’m going to pick him up in a few hours,” Linda says. “Gerard wanted to come with me but I said no, and then that put him in an even worse mood.”

“At least his moods don’t seem to be as bad as Frank’s were,” Saidi points out, chuckling at the look Linda’s giving her, as if to say _please don’t mention those_."

“Oh God, don’t mention those,” Linda laughs. “Do you remember when he went in a mood because I said I didn’t approve of his girlfriend?”

“How can I forget it? He was in a mood for _weeks_. And he was only, what? Twelve at the time?” Saidi says, remembering fondly. “Though I think the worst I’ve ever seen him is when his father left.”

Linda chews on her bottom lip. “He’s back now…” She trails off, looking everywhere but at Saidi. “And we’re together…”

“Linda!” Saidi’s expression is undeniably disappointed. “After what he did to you and Frank, you still took him back?”

“People change!” Linda insists, but then leans back into her chair slightly. “Or at least I thought they do…”

Although Saidi isn’t shocked, she still asks, “What’s he done?”

Linda shakes her head - she doesn’t want to go into it. “I just thought he’d changed… But I’m not so sure anymore.”

“He’ll never change, he was an asshole back then and always will be,” Saidi insists, now sat with her arms crossed.

“I wanted to give him enough chance though,” Linda says with a pained expression. “I still do… I just don’t know if it’s worth it anymore.”

“You still love him, don’t you?” Saidi rubs Linda’s arms.

Linda smiles at Saidi, but it isn’t authentic. “I never stopped,” she says, voice cracking as her eyes watery.

Saidi moves to sit next to Linda. She wraps her arms around her friend, doing her best to comfort her. She knows they say that love is blind, but she wishes she could open Linda’s eyes so she can see what she's oblivious to.

___

The flight home exhausts both Frank and Amy. They stand trying to find Frank’s mother in the crowd of people waiting to pick others up. “Can you see her anywhere?” Frank asks, letting Amy lean into him even though he’s barely managing to stand up himself. He looks around again, trying to spot his mother’s face. “I can’t see her at all.”

Amy scans the crowd and lets out a yawn, rubbing her eyes. “No… Is she late?”

“She shouldn’t be,” Frank says. He gets his phone out to see if he has any messages or missed calls, but he doesn’t. He looks around again and finally spots her at the back of the crowd, pointing her out to Amy so they can make their way over.

“Mom, over here,” Frank calls out as he walks over to his mother, one of his hands carrying his suitcase, the other holding Amy’s hand.

Linda turns her head and when she sees her son, she feels the best she has all day. “How was the flight?” She pulls him in for a hug.

“Tiring,” Frank says simply, hugging his mother back. “Glad it’s over.”

“It was pretty exhausting,” Amy agrees. “Especially since there was that kid who wouldn’t stop screaming.”

“Please don’t remind me.” Frank almost winces at the thought. He puts his hand on his head, “I only just got rid of my headache.” He turns to look at the person stood next to his mother. When he realises it’s Saidi, he greets her with a hug. “Saidi, it’s been awhile since we saw you! How’re you?

“I was saying to your mother earlier that she’ll have to tell me when she’s free, it’s been too long. And I’m good, thank you.” She changes topic, “Anyway, are you going to introduce me to your friend or am I only visible to you and your mother?”

Frank rolls eyes but smiles. “Amy this is my mother’s best friend and my Godmother, Saidi. Saidi this is Amy.”

“Lovely to meet you,” Amy smiles, shaking hands with Saidi.

“Was Gerard okay this morning, by the way? I was half expecting him to turn up with you.”

“He tried to stay off school,” Linda admits. “Even tried convincing me he had a bad stomach, but I saw through it. He’s in school but he’s far from happy about it.”

Frank sighs, “The better I get him into another school the better.”

“Still haven’t heard anything, then?” Linda frowns. “Nothing at all?”

“Nothing at all. I know it might take a while, but I just want him to be somewhere that’s actually going to meet his needs.”

“Try and be patient,” Linda says, although she knows that it isn’t that easy. “Things will work out.”

___

Frank collapses on the couch as soon as he gets home. They dropped Amy and Saidi off on the way back, and now all Frank wants to do is sleep. He never realised how comforting his own home could be - how cosy it was to be surrounded by his own items after being away.

“Make sure you put your clothes in the washing machine sooner rather than later,” Linda says from the other couch. “They’ll start smelling otherwise.”

“Hmm,” Frank says quietly, the side of his face pushed into a cushion. “I will…”

Linda chuckles and gets up, watching as her son quickly falls asleep. She plants a small kiss on the top of his head and pulls a blanket over him. She then gets her bag and keys to go back out to the car to collect Gerard from school. She knows Gerard’ll be upset that it isn’t Frank picking him up, but she wants Frank to have a rest before Gerard gets back home.

___

When Frank wakes up to no one in the room with him and an almost eerie silence, he knows Gerard isn’t home yet. He forces himself to stay awake and goes into the kitchen, getting a glass of water. He leans against the counter and takes small sips as he tries to get himself out of his sleepy trance. A small yawn leaves his mouth as his mind shifts over to what he’s going to make for food. He goes over to the fridge-freezer to see what options there are, and to his surprise, there’s a lot more in there than there was when he left. He makes a mental note to try and let his mother tell him how much she spent so he can pay her back. Deciding that preparing dinner can wait, Frank drinks some more of his water before looking at the pieces of paper with drawings on them that are being held on the fridge by magnets. One of his favourite things about Gerard’s drawings is that when he draws himself, he always makes sure the hair matches his actual hair. There’s three with brown hair, two with red, and another three with black.

After finishing his glass of water, Frank prepares an after-school snack for Gerard. He gets a bowl and fills it up with pieces of fruits, then gets a bottle of water from the fridge. He goes to set it down on the table, but when he realises it’s still quite nice outside, he takes them out to the front porch.

The porch has a small table with two chairs. Whilst Frank rarely uses them, he can’t bring himself to throw them away. It’s not even as if they have any sentimental value, he found them at a garage sale a few years back, and liked how they compliment He sits down on one of the chairs and almost instantly, Iggy jumps up onto his lap, purring and rubbing his head against Frank. “I missed you too,” he laughs, scratching the animal behind its ear. Iggy happily laps up the attention, going as far as to rolling on his back, only to fall off of Frank and run away. Frank laughs at how dopey the cat is, before his attention is shifted over to his mother’s car pulling in the driveway.

It’s not even five seconds after the car’s turned off that Gerard’s out of the car, rushing over to Frank. He hugs him with such a force that they both nearly fall to the ground. “Well hello to you too,” Frank smiles, hugging Gerard back and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I missed you so much, but did you have a good time with grandma?”

“I missed you,” Gerard whines, his words slightly muffled by having his face  how he’s holding onto Frank as if he’s going to disappear.

Frank smiles over at his mother who’s stood by the front door. “I know,” he runs his hand over the back of Gerard’s head, “Shall we take your snack inside to eat?”

Instead of verbally answering, Gerard grabs the bowl of fruit and pulls Frank inside.

Frank gets the bottle of water just as Gerard pulls him inside, nearly tripping over as he walks through the front door. He can tell Gerard’s missed him and that he wants to spend time with him, and whilst Frank wants the same, he’s worried Gerard’s anxiety is about to flare up. “You don’t need to rush,” he says softly, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Gerard doesn’t seem to care about what’s been said. He sits on the couch and as soon as Frank’s sat next to him, he’s curled into his side.

Frank tries for conversation but Gerard doesn’t really reply, only answering by one words or short sentences at best. He eats a few pieces of fruit but doesn’t eat as much as he usually does. It’s no surprise to Frank when Gerard ends up falling asleep on him; he does most of the time he comes back from school, but today he seems more mentally exhausted than anything.

“How did him and dad get along?” Frank asks his mother. Actually calling his father his father makes Frank feel funny. The word feels completely foreign to him when it’s directed at his father, but he can’t avoid it anymore.

Linda exhales. “Your father didn’t really bother with him,” she says honestly. “I mean, he did once or twice, but that was after I prompted him to.”

Frank rolls his eyes. “Well he can’t get annoyed if Gerard doesn’t take a liking to him if he’s not making the effort.” He shrugs, trying to play it off cool but not being able to do so. “He’s really pissed me off this weekend, you now that? I know I’m always pissed off at him, but this is the cherry ice cream.”

Linda chuckles, “It’s cake, not ice cream, Frank.”

“Oh,” Frank laughs, cheeks tinting red. “Anyway, he’s really done it now. First he rings me and asks for money, then-”

“Hold up.” Linda’s face is so serious that it shocks Frank a little bit. “He asked you for money?”

“Yeah…” Frank trailed off. “I transferred some over, but-”

Linda cuts him off once again. “How much?”

Frank has to think about it for a few minutes. “He asked for two hundred but I refused, he wouldn’t tell me what it was for at first. Then he came out with saying it was for groceries.”

“Did you transfer him any money?”

Frank shakes his head. “I told him I’m not being financially responsible for him,” he shrugs. “But really I didn’t believe it was for groceries.”

“He asked me for money last night,” Linda says. “I didn’t give him any either for the exact same reason, and then we got into an argument.”

Frank purses his lips. “How much did he ask you for?”

“Same amount,” she mumbles, chewing on her thumb nail. “He’s up to something…”

“Like what?” It’s not that Frank doesn’t believe his mother, it’s more that he has no idea as to what his dad could be up to.

“Oh I don’t know,” Linda sighs, rubbing her hands over her face. “I feel like giving up on him if I’m honest.”

Frank nods his head. “I know, I didn’t even want to give him a chance. But maybe we should let him redeem himself, if only for Gerard’s sake?” If Gerard wasn’t in the picture then Frank wouldn’t have even given his dad a chance in the first place. “I know he hasn’t been putting the effort in, but… I don’t know, I think Gerard deserves to have as much family as possible.”

“When did you become so responsible?” Linda smiles.

“When I realised my choices affect others,” Frank smiles, turning to look at Gerard. He’s still fast asleep, head resting on Frank’s shoulder, his mouth slightly ajar.

Linda’s still smiling. “You know Frank,” she says to get her son’s attention. “If your father ends up leaving again… I don’t think it’ll hurt so much this time. I’ve got you and Gerard, you’re all the family I need.”

“Me too, mom. Me too.”


	19. I'm far from lonely, and it's all that I've got

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DID I JUST USE LYRICS FROM THE USED FOR A MCR CHAPTER TITLE
> 
> OHH I DID
> 
> I'm a bit sleep deprived,,, I'm sorry.
> 
> Anyway, I've thouht over the plot and now it's shortened, which is mad because this fic coming to an end is just... Weird. It's been a part of my life and yes this is sappy but it's just weird, okay???
> 
> Also a huge thanks to @SkiaWolf for letting me talk through a few things about this fic and help me realise how this plot needs to go and such!
> 
> Lastly, a trigger warning for an ableist slur in this chapter.
> 
> EDIT: This is now the last chapter. I was going to add in more and extend the plot, but I've decided not to for multiple reasons. Thank you for all the support I've gotten over this fanfiction and the lovely kudos and comments, they mean the world to me. If anyone has any questions about the plot or how I was going to end it then feel free to comment.

Frank’s awoken from his sleep by knocking. He sits up in bed and looks around, eyes heavy with sleep. The only sound in his room is the music as the end credits of  _ How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days  _ plays on his TV. Reaching over to his bedside table for his phone, he decides to give in to temptation and lay back down, his head resting against the pillows. According to his phone it’s only nine o’clock, which is far too early for his mother to be here to pick Gerard up. There’s another knock from the front door and Frank groans, pulling the bed quilt off him and stumbling out of bed. He trudges down the stairs, almost missing one step and falling,  but luckily grabs onto the railing just in time to stop himself from doing so. He makes it to the front door in one piece, opening it to find Mark standing there, looking way too joyful for this time of morning.

“Good morning Frank,” he says, tone of voice matching his cheery facial expression. “Mind if I come in?”

Frank lets Mark in without question, too tired to properly comprehend what’s going on. He holds the door open with one hand and uses the other one to get the sleep out of his eyes, yawning as he does so.

“Sorry for stopping in so early,” Mark apologises, now inside the house. “I’ve got a few things I need to do today and with you working and running a restaurant, I thought the earlier hours would be the best ones to catch you.”

Frank hums in agreement, stretching his arms out with another yawn. “Not to sound rude,” he looks at Mark with half lidded eyes, “but why are you here?”

“I need to do a follow up for Gerard,” Mark explains. “I didn’t get to do it when he was in hospital - which is of course, understandable - but it still needs to be done.”

Frank nods his head. He lets out a small sigh, his hopes of having sleeping in later than nine o’clock for once, ruined. “Gerard’s sleeping. We’ll do this in the kitchen. Do you want a coffee?” He asks, already making his way to the kitchen.

“I rather tea, two sugars.” Mark follows Frank, sitting at the table. He sees a few pieces of paper with drawings on them and without hesitation, picks them up. He smiles fondly, “I see he still loves to draw.”

Frank looks over his shoulder to see what Mark’s referencing. “Yeah, should see how much paper we go through,” he chuckles lightly. He scratches the back of his neck and extends his arms, stretching them out. He opens the sugar jar, “You said two sugars, didn’t you?”

Mark hums, “Two sugars, yes.”

Frank sits opposite to Mark once their beverages are ready. He sees Mark is still looking at the drawings and takes a - much needed - sip of his coffee before talking. “My favourite one is this one,” he says and gets up and removes a drawing from the fridge. He sits back down, but hands the drawing to Mark. “Look at how my head is drawn.”

Mark looks at the drawing handed to him and can’t help but laugh softly. He glances at Frank, “Why does your head resemble a square?”

Frank shrugs, “Something about wanting to draw my chin more accurately.”

“Well, I-” Mark cuts his own sentence off with a scream when he feels something brush against his leg, almost throwing the drawings up in the air in fright.

Frank’s eyes widen and he goes to ask Mark what’s wrong, only to figure out what happened when Iggy jumps up onto his lap, and then onto the table.

“I didn’t know you had a cat,” Mark says, his hand on his chest.  “Scared the life out of me when he brushed up against my leg.”

“He’s a little shit,” Frank laughs, moving his mug out of the way when Iggy starts swatting his paw at it. He looks down at him and scratches behind his ear, watching as the cat tilts his head and starts to purr. “Anyway,” he looks back up at Mark, “this follow up, will it take long?”

“About an hour at the most, I’d say.” Mark gets a writing pad out of his bag. “I need to talk to you, to Gerard, and look around the house to make sure living conditions are still in suitable, and then I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay.” Frank drinks almost half his coffee in one go, only stopping when he remembers something. “Also, I want to apologise about the incident between me and Nathan at the hospital… I acted stupidly and yeah… He was only trying to do the best for Gerard, I shouldn’t have acted like such an asshole.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s in the past,” Mark says. “But thanks for the apology, some people I know wouldn’t apologise twice.”

Frank furrows his eyebrow. “Twice? I haven’t apologised twice, this is first time I’ve seen you since the hospital.”

“I saw your mother a week or so back…” Mark trails off, realising Frank’s clueless as to what he’s talking about. “Did she not tell you?”

“Didn’t mention anything,” Frank tells him, letting Iggy jump off his lap before returning to the conversation. “What did she say?”

“She just apologised on behalf of you,” Mark explains. “She was with some guy, looked a bit older than her?”

“Oh, that’s my dad,” Frank sighs. He gets up to refill his half-a-cup of coffee. “He came back recently, unfortunately,” he says quietly, practically mumbling.

Just managing to hear it, however, Mark turns in his seat to look at Frank.

“Do you not get on with him?”

“Not particularly.” Frank pours the coffee into his mug, already wanting to change the subject. “But back to my mother, did she say anything else?”

“Just about Gerard having a counselling session.” When Frank gives him a confused look, Mark realises that he’s clueless to this, as well. “She didn’t say anything about that, either?”

Frank shakes his head, joining Mark back at the table. “Not a word.”

If the look on Frank’s face is anything to go on, Mark knows he should explain more. “She said she was worried that he has separation anxiety, and that she was wondering if Nathan could get him an appointment.”

“She did mention she was worried he has separation anxiety…” Frank trails off, trying to figure out if he should be surprised or not that his mother went behind his back. “I don’t think he does, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he admits. “When’s the appointment for?”

“I don’t know any of the details, sorry. I only know that Nathan managed to get him an appointment. There should be a letter arriving soon enough, though. It’ll be confirming a session for Gerard.”

“Oh okay,” Frank says. “Well, thanks, to both you and Nathan. How are you both, by the way? Is Sam still living with you?”

Mark shakes his head. “Sam moved out a week ago, actually.” He keeps his hands around the mug, even though the tea is now cold. “ Me and Nathan are good, what about you? You seeing anyone?”

“Yeah, I am actually,” Frank says, rubbing his eye. “Her name’s Amy, she works with me, she’s in college as well.”

“A college girl?” Mark asks teasingly, smirking. “And your employee? How many cliches are you trying to achieve?”

Frank laughs. “Shut up,” he jokes. “She’s great.”

“I’m only joking, besides, I’d be a hypocrite if I was being serious. Nathan’s ten years younger than me,”

“Ten years?” Frank asks, somewhat confused. “You’re only, what? Twenty nine?”

“I wish,” Mark sighs. “I’m forty-three in a couple of weeks.”

Frank nearly spits his coffee out. “What?! You’re winding me up!”

“No, really,” Mark says. “But I’m glad I look so young.”

“Too right you do,” Frank laughs. “I thought you were younger than me.”

They continue with some more small chat and light hearted conversation, before they realise they should actually get started on the follow up.All the questions are similar to one another - ‘do you and Gerard have a good parent-child relationship?’, ‘has he settled down well?’, ‘have you noticed any negative differences in him lately?’. Frank is honest when Mark asks if Gerard gets on with Frank’s father - he says they don’t have a bond, but that Frank’s father isn’t a danger to Gerard, just more of an annoying presence.

When Gerard comes into the kitchen towards the end of the questions, his hair is all over the place and his eyes are barely open.

“You slept for longer than usual today,” Frank comments, looking at his watch. “Did you sleep well?”

Gerard nods his head, going to speak but then noticing Mark. He stares at him for a few seconds and then looks back at Frank, still not awake properly and not being able to comprehend what’s going on.

“Mark’s here to do a follow up,” Frank explains. “He’s asking me questions and then he’ll ask you some.”

“Oh,” is all that Gerard says. He goes over to Iggy and picks him up, heading to the lounge with the cat contently in his arms.

“He never has been one for mornings,” Mark comments.

“Don’t I know it,” Frank laughs softly. “I’m going to put breakfast on, do you want anything?”

Mark declines the offer, “I ate before I came here, but thank you.”

A few more questions are asked and then Frank gets to work on making pancakes for Gerard. Whilst he’s doing that, Mark sits in the lounge with Gerard and asks him a few questions.

“And do you like living here?”

Gerard nods his head, but keeps his eyes on the television. “I like having a family again.”

Mark gives a tight smile. “That’s good.” He writes in the notepad before speaking again, “Have you settled down well? Are you happy with everything?”

“Yep,” Gerard says, making the ‘P’ pop, still too invested in his show to look at Mark.

Mark’s done with the questions by the time Gerard’s breakfast is ready. He sits with him and Frank at the table, happy enough to accept another cup of tea.

“Remember you’re going to grandma’s later,” Frank tells Gerard. “Have you got your stuff ready?”

Gerard waits to finish his mouthful before talking, having got the ‘don’t talk with your mouth full’ conversion enough to understand, “No,” he replies. “Grandma has paper and some of my art things, I don’t need to take anything.”

“What about your stuffed animals?” Frank asks. “I’ve got your pyjamas ready,.”

Gerard doesn’t answer the question, opting to eat his food instead. Frank lets the conversation drop, mentally going through what he needs to get ready for Gerard to go to Linda’s. He isn’t staying the night, but by the time Frank finishes work and picks him up, he’ll either be asleep or too tired to change into pyjamas when he gets home, so it’s easier if he changes into the pyjamas earlier on at Linda’s.

After breakfast, Gerard goes back to watching TV and Mark takes a look around the house. He inspects every room; checking for any risks or health hazards that could affect Gerard. Glad not to have found any, he announces that he’ll be leaving, and that he’s more than happy with how Gerard’s getting on. “Be good for your dad, Gerard,” he says as he gives Gerard a hug. “And well done for keeping your room tidy for a change.”

“Grandma tidied my room!” Gerard says somewhat cheerily, having woken up more since breakfast.

Mark chuckles, “I see somethings don’t change.”

Frank walks Mark to the door and thanks him for coming, once again apologising for the thing with Nathan.

“It’s all right, really,” Mark assures him. “Besides, three times apologising? You know what they say - three times the charm.”

With a laugh, Frank answers, “That’s true. Have a good day, don’t shock to many people with the conversations you’ve had with their mothers.”

Mark laughs, “I’ll try my best not to.”

Frank shuts the door once Mark is gone, and joins Gerard on the couch.

“Can we go to Disneyland?” Gerard asks out of nowhere. “I really wanna go.”

“Maybe next summer,” Frank says. Financially he’s got enough, but it’s a lot of stress to organise in just a few weeks, seeing as Frank rather go in the summer than the winter. As well as that, he would have to take time off work and arrange cover. “Or maybe we’ll go for your seventeenth birthday, how’s that?”

“Mmm… Okay,” Gerard says, seeming happy enough with that. He’s quiet for a few seconds, before asking his next question. “Can we colour?

Nodding his head, Frank gets up. “What colouring book do you want?”

“Uh… The Disney one!”

“All right, do you want to do it on the table in the kitchen or in here?” it’s a bit of a pointless question for Frank to ask, seeing as it’s usually in here Gerard colours, as it allows him to watch the TV at the same time.

“In the kitchen,” Gerard replies, surprising Frank. “Then I can see Iggy.”

They move into the kitchen and Frank gets the colouring book and pencils.

The morning is spent colouring and Frank making sure he’s got Gerard’s things ready for when Linda arrives. Lunch is ham and cheese (or just cheese for Frank) and apple juice, which they eat whilst watching The Lion King. When Linda turns up at the door to pick Gerard up, Frank can’t believe how fast time has gone, and how unprepared he is to go to work.

“We all lose track of time sometimes,” Linda points out as Frank stands on the porch with her. “At least you’ve got an hour before work starts, you’ll be fine.”

Logically, Linda’s right. However, being this unprepared has risen Frank’s anxiety. “Mm, I know,” he says, tying his tie. “I just don’t like not being ready.”

“No one does,” Linda points out, sitting down. “But luckily in this case it isn’t the end of the world. Oh by the way, your father apologised about that argument we had.”

“He did?” Frank asked, raising his eyebrows. “How big of him.”

“He’s also staying at mine for a bit, something about having an argument with his house mate.”

“He has a house mate? At his age?” Frank asks, shocked. “I thought he lived alone.”

“Truth be told, I’ve never even been to his house. He’s always come to mine.”

Frank frowns, finding it odd that his mother has never been to the house. “That seems a bit suspicious,” he admits. “Do you think he’s hiding something?”

Linda shrugs. “I don’t know anymore, Frank. He’s been okay since apologising, but I still don’t know if I trust him fully.”

“You know I don’t,” Frank checks his phone for the time, “Gerard,” he calls inside the house, “hurry up, you and grandma need to get going.”

“Don’t rush him,” Linda says, scolding him. “There’s plenty of time, sit down.”

Letting out a huff of air, Frank sits down and drums his fingertips on his thigh. He’s never suffered with anxiety much, but it comes and goes time to time like it does for most people.

“He’s also been asking for more money,” Linda starts, explaining herself more when Frank looks confused, “your dad, not Gerard.”

“Have you given him any?” Frank asks, pushing down on his leg when it starts bouncing.

“None,” Linda promises with a small shake of her head.

Gerard makes an appearance in the doorway and smiles, unaware of the slight atmosphere that’s been created. “I’m ready,” he tells Linda.

“Is that the top we got at the mall?” Linda asks him as she gets up, receiving a cheery ‘yep’ off Gerard. “It looks lovely on you.”

Frank stands up as well, almost falling over when his leg goes weak temporarily. Luckily for him Linda grabs his arm, stopping him from falling and hitting his head on the banister. “I’m all right,” he insists, standing up properly and rubbing his forehead.

“Are you sure?” Linda asks, keeping her hand on Frank’s arm. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to work…” She trails off, seeing how white Frank has gone. “Get someone to cover for you.”

“No no I’ll be okay,” Frank says, trying to wave it off as nothing. “Honestly, you two get going.”

“You can think again if you think I’m letting you drive, Frank,” Linda says, the tone of her voice completely serious. “I’ll drop you off and pick you up, it won’t be a problem.”

“Mom, seriously-”

“It wasn’t a question, it’s what’s happening,” Linda says. “Now get in the car.”

Knowing better than to argue with his mom, Frank locks the front door before heading to the car with her and Gerard.

___

Work is hectic. Four people have called in sick, it’s packed with people, and Frank still doesn’t feel right. His stomach feels funny and he just doesn’t feel right in general, but he hasn’t had the time to address it. He’s been in work for three hours and hasn’t had the chance to sit down or have a break, trying to keep everything running smoothly.

“Frank, are you all right?” Liam asks as they both get plates from the kitchen. “You look ill, dude.”

“I’m fine,” Frank says firmly, trying to hide how ill he truly feels. “Don’t worry about me.”

“All right…” Liams says, even though he isn’t at all convinced.

Frank follows Liam out of the kitchen, trays full of plates in both their hands. It’s when they’re getting towards the table that Frank starts feeling woozy. He takes a few more steps but has to stop when his vision starts getting blurry. He shuts his eyes and opens them when he hears someone in front of him, seeing Amy. “Go sit down,” she tells him, taking the trays away from him. “I’ve got this.”

Frank goes to protest but feels a hand on his back, only then to be led into his office by Liam.

“Mate, you really shouldn’t be in work, you look like shit,” Liam says and helps Frank sit down.

Frank can’t help but laugh, “So brutally honest, aren’t you?”

“That’s me,” Liam winks. “But seriously, go home. We’ll be fine.”

“I can’t,” Frank shakes his head, “we’re too understaffed.”

“We’ll manage,” Amy says as she walks in on the conversation. “Besides, I’ve already rung your mother to come and get you.”

Frank sighs, knowing there’s no point in arguing if his mother has already been involved. “All right, thanks,” he says with a forced smile.

___

“I’ve got to go pick Frank up,” Linda announces, walking into the lounge after being on the phone with Amy. “Apparently he isn’t feeling too good.”

“Can I come with you?” Gerard asks, looking up from the table where he’s colouring.

“Go get your coat and your bag,” Linda says, watching as Gerard does just that. She turns to Frank senior, “are you coming?”

“No,” Frank senior replies, his legs resting up on the foot stool in front of him. He doesn’t take his eyes off the TV, “I’m watching the game.”

Linda scoffs, looking at Frank senior disgusted. “Not even to see if your son’s all right?”

Frank senior groans, “Fine, but if I miss something important because of him-”

“Don’t bother,” Linda says. “Clearly he’s not important enough to you.”

“I said I’m coming, didn’t I?” He asks, getting annoyed. “Jeez, just let me get my coat.”

In the car, Linda lets Gerard sit in the front and has Frank senior sit in the back. The sky has gone dark and the only sounds are the radio, and Gerard humming along to the song that’s playing. “Is dad okay?” He asks when the song finishes and adverts come on.

“Just a bit poorly, that’s all,” Linda assures him. “Nothing that you need to worry about.”

“Okay,” Gerard says. Another song comes on and Gerard gasps, turning it up a couple of notches and singing along to it.

It’s only a minute later that Gerard’s started singing louder (but nowhere near shouting) and Frank senior snaps at him to shut up. Gerard instantly goes quiet, his cheeks going bright red and his fingers starting to play with the hem of his shirt.

Linda grips the wheel tighter, throws a look to Frank senior through her rearview mirror, and turns the radio up. “You sing as much as you like,” she tells Gerard. “It’s my car, I’ll decide what happens.

When they get to the restaurant, Linda tells Gerard to go inside, promising she’ll join him shortly. She turns to Frank senior and knocks his phone out of his hand when he ignores her. “I want you out.”

“What do you mean?” He asks, picking up his phone from the floor. “I can’t walk back home from here, it’s ages away!”

“I meant out of my life. Out of Frank’s life, out of Gerard’s, all of ours - you’re nothing but trouble,” she says, finally realising that it's not worth keeping him around. When he just stares at her, she raises her voice, “Get out of my car!”

He does just that, and so does she. “Linda, honey, come on-”

“Don’t try and talk your way out of this,” Linda scoffs, locking her car. “Just leave, let us be happy.”

Frank senior stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Fine, enjoy your life. Well, as much as you can when you have a retard for a grandson in it.”

Linda feels the anger raise in her, and before she can think about it, her hand is raised and she's slapped Frank senior across the face. "You're disgusting," she spits, then rushing into the restaurant, wanting to be as far away from him as possible.

Amy notices the way Linda marches in and is quick to stand in front of her. “Linda, are you all right?”

Linda goes to speak, but a sob comes out instead, and she accepts the hug from Amy without hesitation.

“Come on, come through to the back.” Amy takes Linda into the stockroom and opens a box of loo roll, taking one out and ripping some off for the older woman. “What happened?”

Linda shakes her head. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she sniffs, drying her eyes as best as she can. “Where’s Frank and Gerard?”

“They’re in Frank’s office with Liam,” Amy explains. “Gerard’s talking about some show that Liam watches as well, or something like that.” She reaches her hand up to rub some mascara off Linda’s cheek, “Would you like a wipe? I keep some in my bag.”

Linda shakes her head, “I need to get going.”

Understanding, Amy takes Linda to Frank’s office. Frank looks better now that he’s had a cup of water, but still doesn’t look like his best. He’s sat in his chair whilst Liam’s showing Gerard something on his phone.

Frank takes one look at his mother and frowns. “Mom, what’s wrong?” He asks, which causes Liam and Gerard to look at her as well.

“I’ll explain later,” Linda promises. “Are you ready to go?”

Frank nods his head, getting up slowly, not wanting to risk anything. “Come on Gerard, let’s get going.”

“Awh, but it’s getting to the good part!” Gerard whines. “I don’t wanna go!”

“Maybe he could stay here with Liam and you and your mom could talk?” Amy suggests, trying her best to help.

“That might be for the best, actually,” Linda says before Frank can say anything. “I don’t want to drive right now.”

Frank and Linda go to a booth, Frank glad that things have quietened down and that Jack’s come in to help out. “So, what’s happened?” He asks.

“Well…” Linda trails off before going into detail about the previous events.

___

Amy takes a bowl of chips into Frank’s office along with a hot chocolate for Gerard. She sets it down on the desk where he and Liam are sat, watching something on Frank’s computer. “What are you watching?” She asks, standing behind their chairs.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Liam replies. “You ever seen it?”

Amy shakes her head, “No, is it any good?”

“Best show, ever,” Liam tells her.

Amy watches it with them for a few minutes, then takes her break when Liam goes back on his shift, leaving just her and Gerard in the room.

“Thanks for the chips,” Gerard says politely after eating a mouthful.

“No problem,” Amy smiles. “Don’t forget about your hot chocolate, it’s better hot than cold.”

“Which is why it’s called hot chocolate!” Gerard happily points out. He eats some more chips before turning to Amy, “Are you gonna marry my dad?”

Amy’s cheeks turn bright red. “Uh… Maybe one day,” she says, scratching the back of her head.

“Okay,” Gerard says simply, going back to eating and watching the computer.

___

To say Frank’s seething is probably an understatement. He knew his father was an asshole, but this? This is something else altogether - to act so horribly towards Gerard, to call him  _ that  _ word, Frank’s beyond disgusted with him. He thinks it’s a good think he wasn’t there when his father said it. “I knew he was no good,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s better for all of us that he’s gone.”

“I agree,” Linda says. She takes a sip of her drink, “I’m going to stay at yours tonight, okay? I’m not feeling up to being on my own.”

“Of course not,” Frank says, understanding. “We’ll get Gerard and then we can be getting on our way.”

They walk in Frank’s office to see Amy and Gerard laughing hysterically, something that manages to bring a smile to Frank’s face. “Well you two seem to be happy,” he comments. He picks up Gerard’s bag and coat from the floor.

“Thank you for sitting with him,” Linda says to Amy. “You’re a star.”

Amy shakes her head. “It’s no biggie, really.”

Linda smiles, then turning to Gerard. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

Gerard nods his head, slipping his coat on. “Bye Amy,” he says happily, giving her a brief hug before making his way out with Linda.

“Wow, what did you do to get him to give you a hug? He won’t even give Isabella one,” Frank comments.

Amy shrugs. “No idea,” she says honestly. “Is everything okay, though? Your mom looked really shaken.”

“Long story,” Frank replies. “But basically, my dad’s gone. Again.”

“And are you okay?” Amy puts her hand on Frank’s shoulder.

Frank moves his hand to hold Amy’s, pressing a kiss to it. “Couldn’t be happier,” he tells her. “Thank you for everything tonight, you were a better manager than me.”

Amy chuckles, “I learnt from the best.”

Frank rolls his eyes fondly and gives her a kiss on the lips. “I’ll text you later, if you want to close this place up earlier than go for it, I think we could all do with a break.”

___

Gerard falls asleep on the way home. The sky is almost pitch black and the radio is playing low as Linda drives. Frank’s sat besides her in the front, overthinking various things. The one thing he thinks (and means) the most is  _ this is my family, I don’t need anyone else. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's wondering, the reason Frank wasn't feeling himself was due to the anxiety he was feeling. You can feel anxiety for less than five minutes and it'll still have a bad affect on you. Because he isn't used to feeling anxious or/and doesn't have anxiety, I figured he wouldn't recognise that he's feeling like he was due to it, and just wanted to write it in ~
> 
> By the way, this wasn't proofread because I'm not up to doing so right now but if I leave it another day it's going to bug me and I'll just keep delaying it,,, so please feel free to point out any typos or such!
> 
> Kudos and comments are super appreciated, and yeah! Thank you to everyone who leaves them and reads this fic!


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